Easter road toll 'at least' 203
2003-04-22 15:12
Johannesburg - According to preliminary reports, 203 people have died in 156 accidents on South Africa's roads since the start of the Easter weekend on Thursday, says the national department of transport.
Of those killed, 79 were pedestrians, 55 were drivers and 69 were passengers.
Mpumalanga was the worst affected with 38 deaths, followed by
KwaZulu-Natal with 34 fatalities, Western Cape with 28, Eastern Cape with 27, Free State and Limpopo with 20 each, Gauteng with 18, North West with 16 and Northern Cape with two deaths.
The department has cautioned, however, that these are only preliminary figures and the final ones will be released only at the end of the week.
Ntau Letebele of the Arrive Alive campaign said that in KwaZulu-Natal 23 motorists were arrested for drunk driving
during the long weekend.
The department said traffic was expected to increase on
main routes again on the long weekend starting from Friday and
ending on Monday, April 28, and again from Thursday, May 1 to Sunday, May 4.