Road death toll down from 2005

By Nadia Samie
3 January 2007

There has been a decrease in the amount of deaths on South African roads this festive season when compared to the same period last year, despite a sharp increase in the amount of road-users over this holiday period.

The transport department reports that 1 366 people had died in 1168 crashes over the December 2006 period – a drop from 1 454 deaths in 2005.

Most deaths were pedestrians with 547 killed, followed by 454 passengers and 365 drivers.

According to the department, the most common driver offences include driving under the influence of alcohol, unsafe and illegal overtaking, ignoring red lights and stop signs, not wearing seatbelts, speeding and not having a valid drivers license.

Bad tyres and brakes, faulty steering, overloaded vehicles, not going for vehicle fitness tests, and defective lights contributed to crashes.

KwaZulu-Natal has the most fatalities with 299 deaths, followed by Gauteng with 265.

The Eastern Cape had 166, Mpumalanga 129, the Western Cape 121, the Free State 117, North West 113, Limpopo 99 and the Northern Cape 57, the department said.