Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga has revealed that 1,427 people died in road accidents in South Africa over the 2023\/24 festive season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, there were 1,184 recorded fatal crashes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is a 1.7% and 2.3% drop from the 2022\/23 holiday period, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chikunga announced this at a media briefing on January 24, 2024, saying that despite showing a decline compared to the same period last year, there were “many avoidable accidents,” and behind the numbers are “actual human beings whose hopes, aspirations and ambitions were dashed.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of these fatalities, the minister said that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Majority of fatalities were reported to be between the ages of 25 and 44. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of the crashes in the festive season, 80.8% were due to human factors, 10.4% were as a result of environmental factors (including heavy rainfall and flooding), and 8.8% were due to vehicle factors. Additionally, most crashes occurred between 19:00 and 22:00, peaking between 20:00 and 21:00.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most of the crashes occurred during the first, third and fourth weeks of December, as people were heading to holiday and “were having end-of-year parties,” said the minister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The breakdown of road accident fatalities during the festive season per province were given as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There were also around 168,000 new registered vehicles on the road during the 2023\/24 festive period, compared to the previous year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chikunga said that although road fatalities remain high, the decline was made possible by the \u201cintensified law enforcement operations conducted and the high police visibility throughout the country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n