KwaZulu-Natal has recorded the second-highest road accident fatalities since the start of the festive season.
This is according to Transport Minister Barbara Creecy, who provided an update on the 2024 festive season road safety campaign yesterday.
Creecy said a total of 439 fatal crashes have been recorded, which is a 3.1% increase when compared to 426 fatal crashes recorded in the same period last year.
“These crashes have resulted in 512 people dying on the roads so far, compared to 499 last year. This is a statistically significant 2.6% increase in fatalities,” she said.
The minister said Gauteng, KZN, Western Cape, Eastern Cape, and Limpopo accounted for 70% of all fatalities in this period.
“Gauteng has the highest number of fatalities at 19%, KwaZulu-Natal at 15%, the Western Cape at 14%, and the Eastern Cape and Limpopo both at 11%,” said Creecy, adding that the Free State and Mpumalanga have contributed 10% and 9% respectively, while the North West contributed 7% and the Northern Cape had the least, with 4%.
In terms of the provincial breakdown for the highest number of fatalities Gauteng had 96 fatalities from 90 crashes, KZN had 77 fatalities from 71 crashes and the Western Cape had 74 fatalities from 61 crashes.
Creecy said the festive season road safety plan involves the deployment of 1 000 national traffic police across the country to 20 defined hotspots known for a large number of accidents.
She said out of the 20 hotspots, eight areas have not experienced any major crashes.
“Unfortunately, what we continue to see is that members of the public use mobile apps to identify the location of traffic calming measures and are moving onto secondary roads, which have seen an increase in major accidents.”
A total of 575 227 vehicles were stopped in 561 roadblocks staged nationwide during this period, she said.
The minister said the number of arrests has increased from 2 386 recorded in 2023 to 3 063.
“However, we remain concerned about the high number of people who continue to drive under the influence of alcohol and pedestrians who use roads recklessly.”
She said a total of 941 drivers were arrested for drunk driving, while 230 were arrested for driving at excessive speeds, and 98 pedestrians were nabbed for crossing the roads where it is not safe.
Creecy said in spite of all the efforts to heighten law enforcement through the effective co-ordination of law enforcement operations by the Road Traffic Management Corporation(RTMC), there has been a significant increase in fatal road traffic crashes so far in the festive season.
She said after an evaluation meeting with all MECs on Tuesday, it was agreed that it is necessary to change the approach for the remainder of the festive season.
“In the coming days, we will intensify our efforts to drastically reduce pedestrian and passenger fatalities by shifting our focus from the main arterial routes to increased policing inside suburbs, townships, and villages.”
Creecy added that law enforcement operations focusing on drunken driving and the wearing of seatbelts will also be increased.
“We will also move the focus from roadblocks to visible patrols on all routes, including alternative or secondary routes.”
The department also decided that provincial traffic departments should adopt the approach used by the RTMC to exercise oversight and co-ordinate with municipalities.
“It means that provincial control rooms comprising senior provincial and municipal traffic officers should be set up to monitor the implementation of the plan and for joint decision-making,” she said.
Creecy added that to resolve challenges with the implementation of the 24/7 shift system, provincial authorities have been instructed to implement a flexi-shift system to improve traffic officer visibility at all hours of the day.
N3 Toll Concession chief operating officer, Thania Dhoogra, said that high traffic volumes continued to be recorded on the N3 toll route, predominantly headed in a southbound direction towards KZN.
She said these volumes are expected to increase further over the course of the coming weekend.
“In addition to increased traffic recorded on the route, a number of serious vehicle crashes have been attended to by members of the Road Incident Management System. Alarmingly, more than 80% of these crashes are likely to have been caused due to human errors, reckless driver behaviour, distraction, and poor decision-making, which can have a long-lasting impact on many lives,” said Dhoogra.
Despite the efforts of N3TC and its law enforcement partners, Dhoogra said lawlessness appears to still be rampant on the roads. “Highly visible policing will continue to be the order of the day on the N3 toll route.”
Durban Metro Police spokesperson Colonel Boysie Zungu said since December 1, 33 people have been arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, while 4 526 were caught driving unroadworthy vehicles.