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RISE Mzansi notes with grave concern the road safety statistics released by the Department of Transport regarding key national routes. The data reveals an ongoing crisis on South Africa's primary corridors (the N1, N2, N3, and N4) where thousands of pedestrians lose their lives or sustain severe injuries each year.
Over the past three financial years, the toll on these four major routes alone reached devastating levels:
| National Route | Fatalities (3 yrs) | Serious Injuries (3 yrs) |
| N1 | ~1,200 | ~2,500 |
| N2 | ~1,500 | ~3,000 |
| N3 | ~1,000 | ~2,200 |
| N4 | ~800 | ~1,600 |
| Combined Total | ~4,500 | ~9,300 |
To put these numbers into perspective, South Africa’s overall road mortality rate remains drastically higher than international benchmarks. While Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations maintain an average fatality rate of roughly 4 to 5 deaths per 100,000 people, South Africa consistently exceeds 20 deaths per 100,000. These are not mere statistics; they represent families torn apart by preventable infrastructural and systemic failures.
When citizens are criminalised for crossing dangerous highways, it highlights a structural failure: communities living alongside major arterials often have no safe alternatives to access work, school, or basic services.
RISE Mzansi calls for immediate, decisive action on two critical fronts:
Community Education and Targeted Enforcement: Government must urgently deploy road safety education and proactive traffic enforcement in high-risk zones near residential areas. Enforcement must shift from penalising vulnerable pedestrians to visible policing, driver compliance, and community awareness where high-speed traffic meets neighbourhoods.
Accessible, Safe Public Transport: We must accelerate the rollout of integrated, affordable, safe, and reliable public transport networks. When public transit is reliable and accessible, reliance on foot travel across high-speed freight corridors drops significantly.
South Africans deserve human-centred infrastructure that protects lives rather than endangering them. RISE Mzansi will continue to push for transport solutions that prioritise the dignity and safety of every citizen.
Issued by RISE Mzansi National Assembly Whip Makashule Gana
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