While there has been an increase in the Easter death toll nationally, the Western Cape recorded a 30.5% death toll decrease this past Easter weekend.
The Automobile Association (AA) termed the national death toll increase as “horrendous” and said while commitments have been made by the government to roll out road safety programmes, these must now be done without delay.
Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga, said 225 people died on the country’s roads over the four-day Easter long weekend in 185 fatal crashes. This is an almost 40% increase on the number of deaths recorded in 2022.
The AA said that the minister indicated that the government would be rolling out a 365 day road safety campaign, which includes classifying traffic policing as a seven-day, 24-hour job.
“This will ensure more traffic law enforcement visibility on our roads and is long overdue. The new minister must, however, ensure the implementation of these initiatives is done without delay, and we call on her, the Department of Transport, and the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), the lead agency responsible for road safety in South Africa ,to keep citizens informed on the progress of implementation.
“Road safety remains a national crisis in South Africa and unless our government and the agencies responsible for road safety improve their approach, our dire road fatality statistics will not decrease,” the AA said.
Though the death toll took a rise this Easter, the Western Cape mobility department welcomed a decrease in the province’s Easter death toll.
MEC for Mobility in the Western Cape, Ricardo Mackenzie thanked road users for exercising caution on the roads.
“I am pleased to announce a 30.5% reduction in traffic fatalities across the Western Cape over the April long weekend compared to the same period in 2022, with a massive 44.5% reduction on provincial routes and an 11.1% reduction on municipal routes.
“While this reflects positively on our collective road safety efforts, the 26 lives lost on our roads (compared to 36 last year) bring significant heartache for the families left behind. We must all continue to take personal responsibility for the actions that either prevent or cause the tragic crashes that lead to these traffic fatalities.
“Thank you to the many law-abiding road users who helped to reduce fatalities this year by sticking to the law and avoiding risky behaviour,” he said.
Though the Western Cape has had a significant decrease in fatalities, 79 motorists were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. A total of nine motorists were arrested for speeding and 373 speeding offences were recorded. A total of 11 078 fines were issued for various traffic violations ranging from driver to vehicle fitness.
48 vehicles were impounded and 149 were discontinued for unroadworthiness.
A total of 127 arrests were made and 25 fatalities occurred.