Bus strike contributed to increased Easter death toll

The bus strike in the week of the Easter holiday period contributed to an increase in road fatalities during this period‚ officials said on Friday.

Deputy minister of transport Sindisiwe Chikunga acknowledged that the strike meant that more cars were on the road.

Statistics released by the department showed that the total number of fatalities increased by 51% from 156 over the same period in 2016 to 235 this year.

• Easter road death toll spikes to 235The road death roll during the Easter Holiday weekend has increased to 235 deaths‚ compared to 156 deaths during the same period last year‚ officials said on Friday. 

"Cars and (light delivery vehicles) contributed 69% of all fatalities‚" Chikunga said.

Road Traffic Management Corporation chairman Zola Majavu said that the bus strike had derailed plans to reduce deaths.

"As chair of the RTMC‚ I am disappointed. We had hoped to reduce fatalities by 50%. The inverse is true. There has been an increase of 51%‚" Majavu said.

• Numsa calls off bus strike after accepting wage offerThe National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) has called off the nationwide strike by bus drivers after accepting a 9% wage offer. 

The statistics also showed that half of those who died in motor accidents were passengers‚ pedestrians accounted for 24.5% of all fatalities‚ followed by drivers at 19.8% and cyclists at 5.7%.

Speeding and jaywalking were among the factors that led to the high death toll.