There has been a drastic reduction in the number of fatalities on South African roads over the Easter holiday period, transport minister Dipuo Peters said on Tuesday.
“The reports indicate that there were 156 fatalities on the roads this year compared to 287 fatalities for the same period last year,” Peters told reporters in Pretoria.
“This represents a much welcomed 46% decline.”
Peters said although the country recorded a decline, the Northern Cape had the same number of fatalities as last year. North West recorded the highest decrease of 71% with the number of fatalities reduced from 28 to 8.
“They were followed by the Free State with a decrease of 52%, with fatalities reduced from 24 to 11. KwaZulu-Natal experienced a drop of 49% with fatalities reduced from 55 to 28,” she said.
Peters added that the decline was achieved in spite of an increase in the number of registered vehicles in the country by 333 226 (3%).
“A big milestone reached but our task is not done yet. For as long as there are people dying on the roads, our work must and will continue,” she said.
Among those who were killed on the road were two officers who were knocked down by cars while on duty.
“We are seriously concerned about the recalcitrant behaviour of our drivers who willy-nilly takes the lives of our law enforcers who dedicated their lives to our road users. We lost the lives of our two law enforcers killed by drivers who are reckless and do not value life,” she said.