More than 1500 people died on South African roads during the festive season. The Department of Transport Minister Barbara Creecy announced this at a media briefing today where she was giving a report back on the 2024/2025 road safety.

FATALITIES

Creecy said there were 1,502 deaths resulting from 1,234 fatal crashes during the festive season. According to the minister, the number of fatalities represents a year-on-year increase of 5.3% compared to the 2023/24 festive season, with a 4.2% (50) increase in the number of crashes. "This is most regrettable, more so because it reverses the incremental strides made in recent years," she said. The minister added that KwaZulu Natal, Eastern Cape, Free State, Limpopo, Northern Cape, and North West recorded increases in the number of fatalities compared to the past year. "The Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and Free State recorded increases of 70, 54, and 21 fatalities as compared to 2023/24 while Gauteng, Western Cape, and Mpumalanga recorded decreases of 76, 23, and 15 fatalities, respectively," she said.

41% FATALITIES ARE PEDESTRIANS

The minister also stated that pedestrian fatalities accounted for 41% of all road fatalities. Creecy said the highest percentage of pedestrian fatalities were recorded in Gauteng, Western Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal, which are the most populous provinces in the country in terms of vehicles and people. Gauteng had the highest pedestrian fatalities at 63.84%, followed by Western Cape with 53.9% and KZN with 44.33%. "The preliminary statistics are deeply disturbing, but these numbers on paper don't tell us anything about the human story, about the tragedies that struck so many families across the country, about the pain of losing a loved one to a road crash. All the more disturbing, then, is the fact that most crashes and deaths are a result of human factors. To be precise, 87% of crashes happened because of human behaviour, including hit-and-runs, jay-walking, fatigue, loss of control over vehicles, speed, drunken driving and reckless overtaking." Creecy added that the number of people who died on the roads this festive season has increased because people continued to behave badly. "In spite of our pleas and warnings, and notwithstanding our efforts to clamp down on irresponsible and reckless behaviour, it is clear that many road users, both drivers, and pedestrians, continue to act without regard for the lives of others."

PROVINCIAL STATISTICS

The provincial statistics indicate that KZN has the highest number of fatalities, reporting 304 deaths resulting from 247 fatal crashes. Following this, Gauteng recorded 235 fatalities from 224 fatal incidents. In the Eastern Cape, there were 231 fatalities from 168 fatal crashes, while Limpopo reported 180 fatalities from 140 fatal incidents. Mpumalanga experienced 143 fatalities from 118 fatal crashes, and the Western Cape recorded 140 fatalities from 124 fatal incidents. The Free State had 106 fatalities from 81 fatal crashes, North West reported 100 fatalities from 87 fatal incidents and the Northern Cape recorded 63 fatalities from 45 crashes.