Cape Town - Fewer people died on South Africa’s roads over the festive period with 1 451 people losing their lives in accidents between December 2022 and January 11 this year.
This was a 13.9% reduction compared to 1 685 deaths in the previous period.
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula released the 2022/2023 preliminary festive season statistics on Tuesday at the Grasmere toll Plaza in Gauteng.
The statistics come amid the recent gas tanker explosion in Boksburg which claimed 40 lives to date.
According the festive season stats, Gauteng recorded 290 deaths, a 5.5% increase and was the only province that experienced this.
KwaZulu-Natal recorded a drop from 275 deaths to 240, followed by the Eastern Cape from 210 to 205 and Limpopo from 226 to 179.
Mpumalanga recorded a drop from 189 to 144 deaths, followed by the Western Cape from 207 to 131, a 36.7% reduction.
Human factors remained a principal driver of the carnage on roads, accounting for 87% of all crashes.
Mbalula said the festive season recorded significant gains in their efforts to end road fatalities.
“We are making significant inroads that usher in hope that tomorrow will be better than today, and today is undoubtedly better than yesterday. We are on track towards the realisation of the 2030 United Nations road safety target,” he said.
Pedestrian deaths significantly increased by 10% year-on year, from 31% in the previous period to 41%.
“In Gauteng and the Western Cape, pedestrian fatalities constitute 54% of all fatalities. Every 100 people that died from a road crash, 54 were pedestrians.
“Passenger fatalities recorded a 7% decline. Driver fatalities declined from 28% in the previous period to 27% in this festive season. Cyclist fatalities also declined from 3% to 2% in the current festive season,” said Mbalula.
Cape Times