Monthly stats might reduce road carnage
THE OFFICIAL death toll for the 2015/16 festive season is 1 755, an increase of 14 percent from the previous festive season (1 535).
The age group most affected, drivers as well as passengers and pedestrians, was between 25 and 39 years old. We should be worried about the fact that most crashes occurred on weekends and its likely that those involved might be drunk. More males are involved in roads accidents than females.
The cost of accidents to our economy is estimated at R306 billion a year, because when somebody is in an accident, either they die or get injured. The Road Accident Fund (RAF) spends up to R1.5bn a month covering victims of road accidents in South Africa.
The Road Traffic Management Corporation and Department of Transport must release road accidents statistics on a monthly basis. This might help to reduce road accidents in our country.
We must remember that our people love the media and this will help to educate and teach responsible driving on our roads.
We also need to review the Arrive Alive campaign because it is very old and lacks innovation and creativity. It should be made compulsory for all vehicles to do wheel alignment to and from long-distance trips. The current government strategy to reduce road accidents is a total failure. We need modern initiatives.
Soweto