Cape Town – Since December 1, South Africa has recorded 512 road deaths, a 3% increase from last year, with nearly half being pedestrians, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy said on Thursday.
Addressing the media, she highlighted multiple fatal crashes, often due to driver fatigue during early morning hours.
“It is concerning that almost 50% of those who have died were pedestrians,” the minister said.
Creecy said that over 500 roadblocks have led to 3,000 arrests, including 1,000 for drunk driving and 250 for excessive speeding.
Over 500 people have lost their lives on the road since the beginning of December. This is according to the latest mid-festive season road safety report released by Transport Minister Barbara Creecy. #eNCA #DStv403 pic.twitter.com/nkEqbWNHkW
— eNCA (@eNCA) December 19, 2024
“We’ve pulled [off] almost 500,000 vehicles. A third of the arrests were people driving under the influence of alcohol and 250 were people driving at excessive speed,” she said.
Unroadworthy and overloaded vehicles were impounded.
Creecy urged public responsibility, emphasising safer practices for both drivers and pedestrians. Last year, 7,987 festive season road fatalities were reported, with pedestrians and passengers most affected. Human error accounted for 84% of fatal crashes.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
