Road deaths down

2003-12-17 12:05

Pretoria - Initial indications were that deaths from road accidents had decreased by about 15% in the first two weeks of December compared to the same period last year, the national transport department said on Wednesday.

A total of 323 people were reported killed between December 1 and 14 in 275 crashes, deputy director-general Sipho Khumalo told reporters in Pretoria. In the corresponding period last December, 382 people died in 305 accidents.

The statistics were provisional, as some late reports may yet come in.

"These figures are especially encouraging in the light of an increase in traffic volumes of about five to six percent over previous years," Khumalo said.

This did not mean, however, that all was well. Up to 40% of people driving on the country's main routes in the past two weeks had exceeded the speed limit.

"It is estimated that around 30% of the road user population still do not comply with the law," Khumalo said.

Arrested driving 225km/h

On Friday, a man was arrested near Edenburg in the Free State driving 225km/h in a BMW 330. He was on his way from Gauteng to Cape Town.

In KwaZulu-Natal, about 1 000 unroadworthy vehicles had been suspended by traffic law enforcers in the past two weeks, said Arrive Alive road safety campaign spokesperson Wendy Watson.

Khumalo said the department was considering introducing a new system of compulsory periodic vehicle inspections.

Also, next year would see the creation of a new body responsible for running the government's envisaged points demerit system. It would see drivers penalised for violations by having points deducted up to a stage where one's licence is taken away.

The system should be in place in two to three years' time.

Khumalo said December was traditionally not the worst month of the year for fatal crashes. More than 41 deaths occur on the country's roads every day of the year.

Many of the fatalities reported in December months were not of holiday-makers but the result of careless driving or walking in urban areas. About 40% of these fatalities were pedestrians.

Traffic volumes peaked on Friday, reaching over 2 000 vehicles per hour on the N1 and N3 highways to the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. The northern and eastern routes averaged 1 800 vehicles per hour.

Traffic would increase further this weekend with mines closing for the Christmas period, Khumalo said.

- SAPA