Fewer Easter accidents, deaths

FEWER people died on South Africa’s roads during the Easter weekend this year compared to last year, Transport Minister Dipuo Peters said yesterday.

Preliminary figures indicate the death toll was 193 – down from 241 last year. There were also fewer accidents.

The Eastern Cape – where 36 people died in 19 accidents between last Thursday morning and Monday – had the secondhighest road death rate, more than double that of last year.

Last year only 13 people died in about 13 accidents. Kwa- Zulu-Natal recorded the most fatalities – 49 in 39 accidents – and Limpopo had the third-most – 30 in 23 accidents.

Nearly half those killed on the roads were pedestrians.

“We need to really deal with the 40% of pedestrians . . . This figure has become an almost permanent feature in our statistics,” Peters said.

The report was compiled by police, evaluated by the Road Traffic Management Corporation and verified by provincial Transport Department heads and their respective political heads.

“There is evidence to the effect that roads in a bad state contribute to road crashes. To ad- dress this challenge, the department issues grants to provinces in need for road maintenance.

“While some of the provinces have made some progress in fixing their roads, others are still lagging behind in this regard.”

Eastern Cape Arrive Alive spokesman Tshepo Machaea attributed the high death rate on the province’s roads to overloading in particular, as well as fatigue, alcohol and unsafe overtaking.

He said Transport Department officials and traffic authorities would meet to discuss a way forward and adjust road safety campaigns accordingly.