News24 | Festive season road stats: 719 people killed in accidents in first three weeks of December

Minister of Transport, Sindisiwe Chikunga released the festive season road deaths statistics on Friday.

• There was a decline in road accidents and deaths this festive season compared to last year.
• Six provinces recorded a decline in road-related deaths while two provinces recorded an increase, and one remained the same. 
• The transport minister said pedestrian fatalities remained high.

More than 700 people were killed in road accidents throughout the country since the start of the festive season in December, with pedestrian fatalities still accounting for most of the road-related deaths.

At a media briefing on Friday, Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga released provisional festive season road statistics and gave a mid-term update on her department's road safety awareness campaign.

"Pedestrian fatalities continue to pose a daunting challenge," she said.

According to the minister, most of the deaths occurred in Gauteng.

The minister said crashes decreased by 0.8% compared to the same period last year, leading to a 4.3% decline in fatalities.  

"In total, 719 fatalities have been recorded in the first three weeks of the 2023/24 festive season, compared to 751 in the same period last year," she said.

The minister said most accidents occurred in the early morning hours, between 01:00 and 02:00, but that fatal crashes occurred between 19:00 and 20:00, and 22:00 and 23:00. Authorities have also noted some accidents between 09:00 and 11:00 on unusual days, such as Mondays and Tuesdays. 

READ | Six people killed, three injured in separate accidents in KZN and Gauteng

A breakdown of deaths per province

Provinces that recorded increases in deaths were Gauteng with 187 fatalities - a 23.8 % increase compared to last year, and Mpumalanga with 81 deaths - a 6.6 % increase compared to the previous year.

Provinces that recorded a decrease in deaths were the following:

• KwaZulu-Natal with 135 fatalities, which is a 6.3% decrease compared to last year.
• Western Cape with 76 fatalities, which is a 1.3% decrease compared to last year.
• Eastern Cape with 59 deaths, which is a 41% decrease compared to last year.
• Free State with 40 deaths, which is a 7% decrease compared to last year.
• North West with 37 deaths, a 17.8% decrease compared to last year; and
• Northern Cape with 16 fatalities, which is a 49.7% decrease compared to last year.

Meanwhile, Limpopo recorded 88 deaths, the same number the province recorded last year.