Africa-Press – South-Africa. The Easter holiday carnage on South Africa’s roads has decreased from 235 fatalities last year to 162 this year.
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula said an analysis of major highways indicated that the number of cars on the roads remained the same, except for KwaZulu-Natal, where traffic volumes decreased by 21%. The province was affected by heavy flooding that led to road closures and claimed several lives.
“It will be remiss of me if I do not comment on the motorists for displaying good behaviour and [their] willingness to comply with the rules of the road during the Easter period. Law enforcement statistics show that there were fewer people prosecuted for speeding, drunken driving, driving unlicensed vehicles and driving without fastening seatbelts this year, compared to previous years.”
Mbalula said the analysis showed that most collisions happened at night.
2 people killed, 3 injured in 2 separate crashes in Secunda
“A new phenomenon was noted this Easter, with fatalities showing a sharp spike in the early hours of the morning, between 4am and 5am.”
He said most of the crashes happened on the Friday and Saturday.
Mbalula added that 2 395 traffic fines were issued for speeding, compared to the 5 923 issued last year. A total of 3 494 motorists were fined for operating unlicensed vehicles, compared to 5 677 last year.
“The peculiar circumstances of this year’s Easter period also had an impact on the number of vehicles that were involved in road crashes and on the number of people who died on the road. The number of crashes declined by 26.8%, resulting in a 31.5% decline in the number of fatalities on our roads.”
ALSO READ |
One killed and two injured in Blood River Crossing crash in KZN
Mbalula also said that most provinces recorded a decline in fatalities.
The Western Cape saw an increase from 26 fatalities last year to 34 this year and Mpumalanga saw a rise from 18 to 23.
“The success we have achieved this Easter will add momentum to our efforts to reduce road fatalities by 25% by 2024. Improving our law enforcement capability and visibility, as well as upscaling public safety campaigns will continue to gain traction.”
Licence renewals
Mbalula added that there was a backlog of 1.3 million expired driving licence cards that have to be renewed.
“Analysis of the backlog by age of drivers who have not renewed their driving licence cards show that motorists between the ages of 25 and 50 years constitute 68% of drivers who have yet to renew their licence cards. This is the age cohort that is mostly driving both as professionals and private citizens going to work and places of leisure.”
To deal with this, Mbalula said licence centres would extend operating hours by two hours during the week and open on Saturdays and Sundays until 31 May.
They will also allow walk-ins in Gauteng and the Eastern Cape. The two provinces have a high rate of people who book appointments online and don’t show up, he said.
An average of 25% of the people who book appointments in Gauteng don’t show up. In the Eastern Cape, the figure is 30%.
He said:
“We have overcome capacity constraints that delayed the production of driving licence cards due to the machine that broke down last year. The Driving Licence Card Account reading entity is now working 24-hour daily shifts to clear the backlog of driving licence cards.”
For More News And Analysis About South-Africa Follow Africa-Press
