Published on : Sunday, December 22, 2013
Over 600 people have died in crashes on the roads of South Africa since the beginning of December. The country’s Transport Minister Dipuo Peters on Friday said from December 1 to date, more than 600 fatal crashes have occurred, claiming more than 600 lives.
“The picture we have of fatal crashes on our roads is scary, to say the least.
Looking at statistics from December 1, we realise that we are still seriously challenged and required to raise more voices to reach out to our South African community,” she said.
The minister was briefing reporters at OR Tambo International Airport on the status of festive season road safety, developments on the Moloto Corridor and a national call to prayer for safer roads.
She said the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) had already started to assist the Transport Department with weekly festive season road safety reports, which will be made available every Tuesday.
On December 1, a major fatal crash claiming the lives of 14 people happened on the Wolmaranstad road, 20 km outside Klerksdorp. Nine more fatalities were reported in another crash that happened on the N11 between Middelburg and Groblersdal in Limpopo on December 6.
Seven more lives were lost in a crash on December 12 on the N2 near Uphongolo in KwaZulu-Natal. Just the following day, seven more lives were lost in another horrific crash on the N1 between Laingsburg and Beaufort West in the Western Cape.
Peters said 20 crashes have been reported on the N1, N12 and the R31 in the Northern Cape since the beginning of December.
Most recently, a truck and a bus collided on the R61, 15km from Queenstown in the Eastern Cape, claiming three lives, leaving 25 passengers injured.
RTMC Acting CEO Gilberto Martins said the major contributory factors of the crashes were dangerous overtaking, driver fatigue, excessive speeding as well as drinking and driving.
Peters said during a meeting of the POC on Wednesday, the rapid rail option, which was recommended as the preferred option in the feasibility study, was endorsed.
The SA National Taxi Council (Santaco) secretary general, Philip Taaibosch, said: “We are aware that our vehicles are a cause of many (accidents) on our roads… We are appealing to all taxi operators not to use vehicles that are not roadworthy… When your vehicles transport our people, ensure that the vehicles are in good conditions.”
Tags: Destination News
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