7 January 1998
The Minister of Transport Mac Maharaj today reported that the death toll and the number of fatal crashes on South Africa’s roads was reduced in December last year during the ARRIVE ALIVE campaign.
Announcing the provisional statistics for December 1998, Maharaj said 718 people died in 531 fatal crashes around the country. This meant that 88 lives were saved and that there were 89 fewer crashes than in December 1997 when 806 deaths were reported in 620 fatal crashes.
But Maharaj cautioned that the current 10,9% reduction in the death toll and 14,4% reduction in fatal crashes was based on preliminary figures that would only be finalised in three months time. ARRIVE ALIVE set a campaign target for a 5% reduction in both fatalities and all types of crashes. The third ARRIVE ALIVE campaign runs from December 1998 to the end of Easter 1999.
"I am confident that we will exceed the target of a 5% reduction for December 1998 over December 1997," he said.
"But what I do welcome is that in the ARRIVE ALIVE campaigns in both December 1997 and December 1998 we have brought the death toll down by 235 through a concerted law enforcement and communication campaign. The means that, with dedication and hard work, we can eradicate the lawlessness on our roads. But it is a long-term campaign that requires the co-operation of all sectors of traffic law enforcement from the courts to the licencing centres to all road users."
"For us the challenge remains to make ARRIVE ALIVE an on-going road safety campaign. This will not only save lives, but also the huge cost of road crashes to our economy."
Maharaj thanked the private sector and the media for the support that they gave to ARRIVE ALIVE this year. "It is the partnership between the three tiers of government and the private sector that makes ARRIVE ALIVE a campaign that all South Africans can participate in to make our roads safer for all of us to travel on."
FATALITIES - PROFILE
According to preliminary police reports:
Of the 718 people killed, 234 (32.6%) were drivers, 250 (34.8%) were passengers and 234 (32.6%) were pedestrians
A total of 215 (30%) of all fatalities were female, while 118 (16.4%) were children under the age of 18.
A total of 76 (10.6%) of those killed were under the age of 12, while 42 (5.8%) were between 13 and 18 years old.
The highest death toll of 300 (41,8%) was in the 25-39 age group - people considered to be in the prime of their life.
ACCIDENT TYPES In 144 (27%) of the crashes, vehicles overturned, causing the death of 196 people, or 27% of the total fatalities.
Forty-six (7%) were head-on collisions, in which 117 people (16.4%) died.
Another 51 people (7%) died in 27 head/rear-end collisions (3,8%).
A total of 194 crashes (36.5%) were caused by vehicles hitting pedestrians.
VEHICLES
No fewer than 708 vehicles were involved in the 531 crashes. In one fatal pile-up a truck jackknifed on the road, involving a total of seven vehicles.
Of all crashed vehicles:
AREA AND TIMES
About 75% (397) of the crashes occurred outside towns and cities, while 53% occurred between 6pm and 6am. More than 58% of all fatal crashes occurred over the weekend (Friday to Sunday).
CONTRIBUTORY FACTORS
Alcohol and speed played a major role in crashes reported.
Alcohol: according to police reports and spokesmen for trauma units around the country, alcohol was suspected to have played a contributory role in more than half of all crashes reported. This included alcohol abuse by pedestrians.
In the case of pedestrians, jaywalking (or drunken people lying in the road) was a contributory factor in 34.1% of the fatal crashes, with the Northern Province, Gauteng, KZN and the Western Cape having even higher provincial percentages.
Speed: High speed was a primary factor in 22,2% of the fatal crashes. But speed played a contributing role in 74,5% of crashes with other factors such as alcohol and fatigue.
An ARRIVE ALIVE spokesperson said: "The high incidence of driving under the influence of alcohol and speeding remain of the greatest concern. The KZN provincial traffic police reported no fewer than 1,713 arrests for drunken driving offences for the period 1 December 1998 to 3 January 1999."
The spokesman said over the same period, a total of 242,687 speeding offences were recorded (151,905 by camera). A total of 163 people were
arrested for speeding
A total of 52,219 tickets were issued for failing lights (12,388), worn tyres (9,355), faulty brakes (5,358) and faulty steering (504). The remainder covered a host of other vehicle defects.
In total, nearly 400 000 moving offences (including vehicle defects) were record over the period, the spokesman said.
More than 751 were fined for overloading (passengers).
In Gauteng 132,686 notices were issued for speeding, 3,630 for alcohol, 12,497 for seatbelts. Notices were released for overtaking (840), overloading (907), barrier line (554), lights (4,581), signals (13,902), reckless (107), negligent (72), road worthiness (11,109) and others (6,173).
In the Western Cape 17,257 notices for speeding were issued, 137 for alcohol and 15,362 for other offences.
DRIVERS
Of all the 710 drivers, bikers and cyclists involved in fatal crashes, 52 were female (ie 92,7% were male).
Of all drivers:
Of all the drivers involved, 32,6% were killed.
PROVINCIAL BREAKDOWN for December 1998
Province Fatalities Crashes
KZN 138 (19.2%) 100 (18.8%)
Gauteng 110 (15.3%) 96 (18.1%)
Western Cape 110 (15.3%) 70 (13.2%)
Free State 73 (10.2%) 53 (10.0%)
Eastern Cape 87 (12.1%) 63 (11.9%)
Mpumalanga 68 (9.5%) 45 (8.5%)
Northern Province 58 (8.1%) 40 (7.5%)
North West 47 (6,6%) 39 (7.3%)
Northern Cape 27 (3,8%) 25 (4.7%)
THE MOST DANGEROUS ROUTES
Western Cape
The N1 linking Cape Town with Worcester, Laingsburg and Beaufort West, again proved to be the worst stretch of road with a total of 35 fatalities in nine crashes.
There were four crashes between Cape Town and Worcester in which five people died. In three crashes between Worcester and Laingsburg, 27 people lost their lives. This included the Laingsburg bus disaster in which 21 people were killed. Another two crashes between Laingsburg and Beaufort West claimed three lives.
On the N2 between Cape Town and Caledon - five people died in four crashes.
On the R60 between Swellendam and Worcester - six people died in four crashes.
KwaZulu Natal
The N2 between Kokstad and Empangeni - 16 people died in 11 crashes.
The N11 between Ladysmith and Volksrust - seven people died in five crashes.
The N3 between Durban and Howick - eight people died in as many crashes.
The N3 between Estcourt and Van Reenen’s Pass, eight people died in four crashes.
The R33 between Piet Retief and Vryheid - five people died in two crashes.
The R617 between Howick and Underberg - 12 people died in two crashes.
Gauteng
The N3 between Johannesburg and Villiers - seven people died in six crashes, four of them in four crashes between Heidelberg and Villiers.
(Seven people died in seven crashes in Soweto and 17 in 15 crashes in Pretoria.)
Free State
The N1 between Kroonstad and Vanderbijlpark - six people died in three crashes.
The R44 between Botrivier and De Hoek - five people died in four crashes.
The R707 between Frankfort and Marquard, five people died in a single crash.
Eastern Cape
The N2 between King Williamstown and East London - eight people died in four crashes.
Mpumalanga
The N4 between Bronkhorstspruit and Nelspruit, 15 people died in 13 crashes, eight of them in six crashes between Witbank and Belfast.
Northern Province
The N1 between Pretoria and Beit Bridge - 21 people died in 19 crashes, nine of them in a single crash between Pretoria and Warmbaths.
North West province
The N14 between Vryburg and Kuruman - eight people died in three crashes.
Didi Moyle
PA and Media Liaison Officer to the Minister of Transport
Pretoria: (012) 309 3131 (phone) or (012) 328 3194 (fax)
Cape Town: (021) 457260 (phone) or (021) 461 6845 (fax)
email: moyle@ mweb.co.za or moyled@ndot.pwv.gov.za (Pretoria only)
cell: 082 808 5108