Human Error Contributes to Rise in Road Fatalities Over Holiday Season

The number of people who died on South African roads in December to January rose 14 percent, up to 1,755, compared to the same period the previous year, according to preliminary figures released by the Department of Transport.

The Minister of Transport Dipuo Peters told reporters on Tuesday that between 1 December and 11 January, there were 1,387 fatal crashes. She said that human factors were the major contributors to road crashes;: J-walking, dangerous overtaking and drunk driving.

The majority of people who died were passengers (33.3 percent) followed by pedestrians (33.9 percent), and drivers contributed to 23.9 percent of the fatalities and cyclists 2.8 percent, Peters said.

“Very disturbingly, of this number, 81.4 percent is apportioned to blacks while the remainder varies between coloureds, whites, Asians and foreigners,” Peters was quoted as saying.

KwaZulu-Natal is the only province that recorded a decline in the percentage of fatalities by two percent, while the Western Cape recorded the the most, with fatalities increasing from 122 to 162.