By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
More than 700 people have died in road crashes in the first three weeks of the 2023/24 festive season compared to 751 in the same period last year.
Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga and the Road Traffic Management Corporation released the mid-term festive season campaign statistics at the Villiers toll plaza in Mpumalanga on Friday.
“In total, 719 fatalities have been recorded in the first three weeks of the 2023/2024 festive season compared with 751 in the same period last year, “said Chikunga.
Five provinces — Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, the Eastern Cape and Western Cape — accounted for 80% of fatalities.
Road traffic officials have been on the ground implementing the festive season plan, which was launched at the end of last month, since 1 December.
“As a result, our law enforcement officers conducted 423 roadblocks nationally in which 753 823 vehicles were stopped and checked.
“A total of 173 307 infringement notices were issued, 1 333 vehicles were discontinued, 2 619 vehicles were impounded, and 3 573 motorists were arrested for various offences. Drunken driving accounted for 1 114 arrests,” the Minister announced.
According to Chikunga, the top five infringements were speeding, driving without fastened seatbelts which accounted, driving without a driving licence, unlicensed vehicles, and driving vehicles with smooth tyres.
“The highest speed was recorded on R21 in Gauteng where a motorist was stopped while travelling at 206 kilometres an hour in a 120-kilometre zone.
“The highest alcohol content was recorded at Zwelitsha in the Eastern Cape where a motorist recorded a breath alcohol concentration of 1.97 milligrams per 1, 000 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 0,24 milligrams per 1,000 millilitres of breath.”
Pedestrian fatalities remain the leading cause of fatalities, followed by passengers and drivers.
“Heightened operations are to be undertaken from Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Corridor operations will be undertaken during peak travel periods linking at provinces that share borders. Twenty-Four routes, which have recorded a high number of crashes and fatalities in the past will be prioritised,” the Minister said.
In an effort to improve compliance on the roads, law enforcement will deal with motorists who drive without number plates.
“This is generally done by speedsters and people who want to avoid detection by speed cameras. This is defeating the ends of justice, and such vehicles will be stopped and impounded until plates are properly attached.
“We know that our borders have been very busy during the festive seasons in the past and the Cross-Border Road Transport Agency has geared itself to ensure that vehicles coming into and out of our country are compliant with all requirements,” the Minister said.
The following ports of entry will be monitored: Beitbridge in Limpopo, Lebombo in Mpumalanga, Ficksburg in Free State and Golela in KwaZulu-Natal.
“Our relentless commitment to deal with corruption and bribery continues over this period. Our own assessment tells us that corruption relating to the issuing of learner’s licenses and bribery increase around this time.
“We warn officials and members of the public to desist from corrupt behaviour, which is a major damper to our efforts of maintaining safer roads. Our anti-corruption agents will be deployed and the instruction to them is to show no mercy and arrest both corruptor and corruptee, “she said.
Last year’s crash statistics showed that road traffic crashes decreased during the six weeks of the festive season.
They dropped by 7% from 1395 crashes to 1 299. On the other hand, fatalities decreased from 1 808 to 1 560.
“Therefore, everyone is called upon to put shoulders to the wheel to ensure a better outcome this season and throughout our 365 Day Road Safety Campaign. It is against the backdrop that we will be intensifying our efforts and interventions in the five province that contribute more than 80% of road crashes and fatalities,” the Minister said.
Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Western Cape, Limpopo and Mpumalanga will receive focused attention this year with nighttime deployment of traffic officers and road safety activations that are intended to improve pedestrian safety.