SA roads were safer this Christmas

Creation date: 12 January 2009

The Department of Transport said that 937 people have died in 733 accidents reported nationally this holiday season. This is an improvement on the 1596 road deaths that occurred in the 2007-2008 period.

Safer travels for SA's motoristsGauteng showed a substantial drop in the number of road deaths, from 328 in 2007-2008 to 136 between the 1st of December 2008 and the 5th of January 2009. KwaZulu-Natal also recorded a decrease in fatalities, from 273 deaths to 181. In the Western Cape, the statistics dropped from 169 to 74 year on year. In the Eastern Cape, the 92 recorded fatalities marked a 104 fewer deaths compared to the numbers recorded in 2007-2008. In Mpumalanga 111 people died, compared with the 178 measured last festive season. North West reports a decline from 114 deaths in 2007-2008 to 70 in 2008-2009.

The reduced fatality rate was a step in the right direction for the department to reach its 2014 target of cutting road traffic offences by 20 percent per annum, according to Collen Msibi, spokesperson for the Ministry of Transport.

The target also included "reducing pedestrian deaths (currently nearly 50 percent of all road deaths) by 10 percent per annum, as well as improving cyclist road safety," Msibi said.

He said the department would tighten traffic campaigns along major routes to target motorists returning home from vacation.

"Motorists should expect intensified enforcement as they return home. A major offensive will be waged against excessive speed, unroadworthy vehicles, overloaded taxis and buses, alcohol and fatigue," he said.

Particular attention would be paid to the N3 highway from Durban to Johannesburg, the N1 at Beit Bridge and between Polokwane and Pretoria, the N1 from

Bloemfontein to Johannesburg, the N4 between Nelspruit, Johannesburg and Pretoria, and the N12 from the North West to Gauteng.

Traffic officers would also monitor the N2 along the coast linking the Eastern and Western Cape provinces, Msibi said.

Source: http://www.sagoodnews.co.za/crime/sa_roads_were_safer_this_christmas.html