Johannesburg - Just as the country was coming to grips with the deaths of 15 people in a horror crash in Randfontein, road statistics for the long weekend have revealed that was just the tip of the iceberg.
On Tuesday, Transport Minister Dipuo Peters revealed during a press briefing that 179 fatal collisions occurred and 237 people lost their lives on South African roads in a matter of four days from April 29 to May 2.
In that light a staggering 59.25 people died a day in what the minister attributed to bad attitudes and irresponsible choices made by road users.
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Peters said the increase of 106 fatalities as opposed to the previous year’s figure of 131 deaths was a cause for concern for her department and the various road agencies.
“This past long weekend was one of the saddest moments in the history of our country with many lives lost on the roads and scores injured,” she said.
Peters said that having the long weekend coinciding with payday encouraged travelling and increased traffic volumes.
The minister said she was particularly disturbed by the four collisions around the country that resulted in 15 deaths from Randfontein, five deaths in George, Western Cape, a minibus crash in Mokopane, Limpopo claiming nine lives and one person who died in a collision involving four cars on the N2 between East London and Mooiplaas in the Eastern Cape.
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“These collisions claimed about 30 lives in total. But most worrying are the causes of these crashes which include drunk driving, overtaking when it is unsafe to do so, reckless and negligent driving as well as speeding,” said Peters. “Major crashes were mainly caused by minibuses and freight transport and this is quite a significant number and too ghastly to contemplate.”
Statistics revealed that the provinces that experienced the highest number of fatalities were KwaZulu-Natal with 49 deaths, Gauteng 45 and Limpopo, 39.
The minister called on the Road Traffic Management Corporation to conclude engagements with the Department of Justice and Correctional Services as well as the National Prosecuting Authority to reschedule traffic offences with a view of introducing mandatory minimum sentences.
“We should work to ensure that a person is not supposed to drive even after having just one glass of alcohol to drink.
“The sooner Aarto kicks in and people start losing their licences due to the demerit system, the sooner people will understand what we mean about proper road usage,” said Peters.