Driver behaviour the focus of 2024 road safety campaign

Transport minister Barbara Creecy highlighted the 2023 road crash statistics during the launch of the 2024 festive season road safety campaign on December 1.

Road crashes cost the economy more than R205bn in 2023, or 2.74% of GDP, Creecy said at the launch of the campaign at the N1 Carousel in Limpopo.

Creecy said the Road Traffic Management Corporation’s (RTMC) “State of Road Safety Report” for January 1 to December 31 2023 showed SA had 10,180 fatal crashes which resulted in 11,883 deaths. A total 5,360 pedestrians lost their lives in the same period.

“Even though the number of road fatalities decreased by 4.4% from 2022 to 2023, so far this year [2024], 10,154 people have died on SA roads,” the minister said.

According to RTMC statistics, the provinces where pedestrians are most at risk of dying are Gauteng (1,412), KwaZulu-Natal (1,200) and the Western Cape (757). Furthermore, 21.3% of road deaths in 2023 involved hit-and-run incidents, while alcohol and speed were two of the biggest contributors to road deaths. 

Of that total, 1,285 road deaths happened during the 2023 festive season. Research available to the department shows most crashes occur at the weekend, late at night and in the early morning hours.

The effect was measured in terms of human lives lost, pain, grief and suffering, and came at a cost to the economy, Creecy said. In addition to the human cost, the cost of crashes included vehicle repair costs and related incident costs.

“The number of road crashes and the effect on our people and our country is a tragic story of death and destruction, year in and year out,” she said.

“For further perspective, the RTMC also quotes the global road safety report, which tells us that based on 2019 data on the age distribution of all-cause mortality, road traffic injury remains the leading cause of fatalities for children and young people aged five to 29 years.”

Road traffic fatalities are said to affect people during their most productive years. About 66% of fatalities are among people aged 18 to 59 and 19% are 60 or older. Human behaviour and error and environmental conditions, such as heavy rain and road design, are the main causes for road accidents, according to a 2016 research paper.

Given the data, the department and the RTMC have set about implementing targeted interventions this festive season that are aimed at changing driver behaviour and enhancing enforcement actions.

The campaign strategy is based on four pillars, namely responsible driving, pedestrian safety, enforcement and education, while 20 routes where most crashes occur are being prioritised. These include:

• Limpopo — R71 Mankweng, R37 Mecklenburg and the N1 Mookgophong;
• Mpumalanga — R573 KwaMhlanga, N4 Vosman and N4 Mbombela;
• Gauteng — R21 Kempton Park;
• North West — N12 Potchefstroom and N12 Klerksdorp;
• KwaZulu-Natal — N2 Pongola and N2 Umkomaas;
• Eastern Cape — R61 Mzamba, N2 Libode, N2 Idutywa, R61 Mthatha, N2 eMaXesibeni, R61 Libode and N2 Mthatha; and
• Western Cape — N2 Khayelitsha.

Stringent monitoring has been put in place to ensure the implementation of the law enforcement plan on these and other routes. Round-the-clock traffic policing will be conducted on these routes over the festive season.

“To those who will be travelling to destinations inside the country and our neighbouring states during this period, let us remember road safety is everyone’s responsibility, and ensure you and your loved ones arrive alive,” said Creecy.