Warning over deadly and disturbing new accident scam in South Africa

The Road Accident Fund (RAF) has warned against a disturbing new trend in South Africa where pedestrians will throw themselves in front of moving vehicles in a bid to make fraudulent claims from the fund.

The group said that it will not pay out any claims where accidents were caused deliberately, even if it led to a death.

The RAF said that perpetrators of this type of fraud typically wait for vehicles to slow down enough that they don’t get killed on impact before throwing themselves in front of them.

This scam has been tracked frequently in other countries—often leading to the wide adoption of dash-cams to be used as evidence of the fraud—and is now apparently gaining traction in South Africa.

“This behaviour is dangerous and adds unnecessary pressure on the Fund, which must assess and investigate claims of rightful claimants efficiently,” it said.

“The RAF does not compensate someone who intentionally causes a motor vehicle accident, even if this results in serious injuries. In the event of death, the RAF further does not compensate beneficiaries of those who are the authors of their own misfortune.”

It said the RAF Act requires that the respective degrees of fault, blame or negligence, amongst other things, must be determined upon receiving a claim.

“We acknowledge road users may be faced with socio-economic challenges. However, road safety and road crash prevention efforts must remain a priority to all as they contribute towards the reduction of accidents.”

A total of 49,631 claims were declined from 2021/2022 to 2023/24. The reasons for this include cases where a claimant was solely responsible for causing the road crash, claims where the claimant died before finalisation of the claim, claims where injuries sustained were so minor that no claim for damages arose, and claims that were lodged fraudulently.

Over the last five years, South Africa recorded a total of 7,987 road fatalities during the festive season. Festive season road crash statistics cover a 42-day period, from 1 December to 11 January each year.

A total of 84% of these fatal road crashes resulted from human conduct. Pedestrians and passengers were the most affected road users at 40% and 33% respectively, followed by drivers (26%) and cyclists (1%).

The fund also reminded road users that it does not compensate for the death itself but only pays for the actual costs to cremate the deceased or bury them in a grave.

To aid pedestrians and road users in avoiding mishaps and potential fatalities, the RAF recommended that they:

• Wear brightly-coloured clothes when walking after sunset.
• Don’t run when crossing the road. Be alert and walk.
• Cross the road only where it is safe to do so.
• Do not drink and drive.
• Do not text and drive.
• Make sure that you inflate your tyres to the correct tyre pressure recommendation.
• Keep a safe following distance.
• Do not drive or walk on the road unsupervised if you are not feeling well.

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