Easter road fatalities down by 48%, says Blade Nzimande

Fatalities decreased by 48% over Easter on SA's roads compared with 2018.

"I am pleased to announce that the number of fatalities decreased by 48% from 309 in 2018 to 162 in 2019," transport minister Blade Nzimande said on Thursday during a media briefing at the Government Communication Information Systems (GCIS) offices in Pretoria.

"All provinces recorded fewer fatalities. The highest decrease in absolute figures was recorded by Limpopo with 41 fatalities followed by KZN with 37 fatalities."

Nzimande added: "However, government is still concerned even by a single loss of life on our roads."

Over Easter, 192 drivers were arrested for speeding, and 807 for drunk driving.

The highest recorded speed was in Gauteng with a driver clocking 203km/h, followed by a Western Cape driver who was caught doing 202km/h.

There were five major crashes which killed 41 people and seriously injured 28.

Cars and delivery vehicles contributed the most to crashes - however, cars recorded a decrease of 17 percentage points from 47% of the crashes in 2018 to 30% in 2019.

In more than seven out of 10 crashes (72%), men were driving.

Nzimande said road safety was everyone's responsibility.

"Although we have significantly reduced our crashes and fatalities on our roads, we can still do more to eradicate this calamity because one death is too many."