Issued by Department of Transport
8 December 1999
Speed was a major contributory cause in at least 50 percent of the spate of bus accidents that happened during September and October this year, Abdulah Omar, Minister of Transport announced today. This information is contained in a draft report submitted by Transportek of the CSIR which was appointed by the Department of Transport to undertake detailed investigations into 10 of these accidents. The team of the CSIR included two overseas experts, one from Australia and one from Canada.
The report further reveals that of the contributory causes identified, 70 percent can be attributed to driver error; 22 percent to vehicle defects and 8 percent to the road environment. Possible driver factors include 5 cases of speed; 2 cases of reckless overtaking; 2 cases of driving under the influence of alcohol; no less than 6 cases of inconsiderate driver behaviour and one of ignoring a stop sign.
The major vehicle defects that were identified, include inadequate brakes (one of the buses was found to have brakes on only one rear wheel); a tyre burst; defective lights and overloading. It is important to note that the road environment played a role in only two of the accidents; one in which cattle were on the road due to poor or no fencing; the other in which the accident took place at night at a junction on a curve in the road, but nevertheless also involved fog and speed too high for circumstances. The conclusion to be drawn from this is that road environment factors are seldom in themselves a more important issue than driver judgement.
Only two of these accidents happened during a weekend, a Saturday and a Sunday. Three (3) of the accidents happened during broad daylight and 5 during night time, in the very early hours of the morning, and one under poor light conditions. A total number of 14 vehicles was involved in these 10 accidents, including 12 buses and 2 trucks. Eight (8) of the 10 accidents were single vehicle accidents, in 5 of which speed was identified as a factor. Two accidents also involved trucks.
In these 10 accidents a total of 424 people were involved. Ninety-eight persons (23 percent) were killed, 108 (26 percent) seriously injured and 218 ( 51 percent) slightly injured. Sixty four (64) persons,(65,3 percent) of those killed, and 64 persons,( 59,3 percent) of those seriously injured, were in accidents in which speed played a major role.
A total of 51 people died and 72 were seriously injured as a result of poor mechanical conditions of the buses involved. The above facts again clearly show the importance of good driver behaviour and proper vehicle maintenance in road safety. Although as yet not a proven fact, the high number of night-time accidents could also point to driver fatigue, which is a further factor generally related to accidents over holiday periods.
Due note must be taken of the fact that the above information and statistics is based entirely on preliminary findings and is NOT intended to pre-empt any official finding by the South African Police Service (SAPS) or any court case that may result from any of the 10 accidents investigated by the CSIR.
In a further study which is simultaneously being undertaken, it was revealed that the accident rate for minibuses is fairly constant at a high level of about 900 accidents per 100 million vehicle kilometers traveled. Similar trends were found for fatality rates. On average, 1 out of every 4 buses and minibuses was involved in a road accident annually, whereas for LDV's and heavy vehicles the ratio was about 1 in 10.
Minister Omar again urgently appeals to all road users; operators, drivers, passengers and pedestrians alike to strictly observe the rules of the road as well as adhere to the Six Commandments of the Arrive Alive campaign:
don't speed
don't drink and drive
don't overload
wear your sealtbelt
insist on vehicle and driver fitness
promote pedestrian safety.
For more information, contact
Mike Mabasa
Media Liaison Officer
to Minister of Transport, Dullah Omar
083 680 7048