Pedestrians proving 'lethal'
2004-01-02 16:44
Johannesburg - Pedestrians proved once again on Friday to be a major hazard on South Africa's roads.
Only a day after eight tourists and a pedestrian were killed on the road between Harrismith and Bergville in KwaZulu-Natal, a nine-year-old boy was killed while walking along the N2 in that province at 08:30 on Friday.
Police said witnesses reported that a Land Rover was forced to swerve when the schoolboy ran across the N2 between Pongola and Piet Retief.
The driver apparently lost control of the vehicle and crashed into another car.
But, despite the driver swerving, the child was hit anyway and died at the roadside.
He was just one of hundreds of pedestrians who, according to experts, die needlessly during holiday periods on South African roads.
According to Rajen Chinaboo of KZN's traffic department, the boy's death brings to 108 the number of pedestrians killed on the province's roads during December.
Alcohol plays a major role
The total number of road fatalities for the same period was 195, so pedestrians made up more than half of the fatalities.
Chinaboo said alcohol played a large part in most of the deaths.
A similar situation exists in Gauteng.
Dr Jacques Goosen, head of trauma at Johannesburg Hospital earlier this week said pedestrians were involved in most road accidents.
This was confirmed by Wayne Minnaar of Johannesburg metro police, who said an extensive educational programme was under way in an effort to get the message across to those walking the highways and byways
"About 40% of people who die on our roads are pedestrians," he said on Friday.
Wendy Watson, Arrive Alive's spokeswoman said that percentage was true for the whole country and had been so for the past 10 years.
"Everything here has been built for vehicles," she said.
However, she warned the main problem was the number of pedestrians who had been drinking.
"At least 70% of adult pedestrians killed are drunk."
She said the national department of transport would be re-evaluating their programmes after the holiday season to see what could be done to improve matters.
Minnaar said they were hard at work trying to provide pedestrians with information on road safety.
"In Johannesburg, metro police, in conjunction with Gautrans (the provincial traffic authority), embarked on a safety awareness campaign. We have distributed tens of thousands of leaflets warning people about the dangers."
Minnaar said their chief areas of concern were pedestrians who had been drinking; a lack of visibility when those walking along roads were wearing dark clothes; passengers alighting from buses and taxis who were not aware of the traffic around them and people who crossed highways.
- SAPA