Hundreds die in December car crashes on SA roads

Seventeen people died in accidents over the past two days as heavy festive season traffic was recorded on South Africa’s main roads.

On Friday, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy released the mid-season safety report, which noted there had been 439 fatal car crashes and 512 deaths on SA’s roads since 1 December. This was a 3.1% increase from 426 fatal crashes recorded in the same period last year.

Read more: Transport Minister Creecy ramps up SA roadway safety operations after spike in road fatalities

Friday’s stats revealed that:

• Gauteng had 96 fatalities from 90 crashes;


• KwaZulu-Natal had 77 fatalities from 71 crashes;


• Western Cape had 74 fatalities from 61 crashes;


• Eastern Cape had 54 fatalities from 47 crashes;


• Free State had 52 fatalities from 33 crashes;


• Mpumalanga had 44 fatalities from 41 crashes;


• North West had 36 fatalities from 31 crashes;


• Limpopo had 58 fatalities from 47 crashes; and


• Northern Cape had 21 fatalities from 18 crashes.

Those numbers have increased after several collisions at the weekend. In the Eastern Cape near Dutywa, 12 people died and three were seriously injured when a Toyota Quantum minibus taxi with 10 passengers collided with a Ford Ranger with four passengers.

In another accident in the Eastern Cape, four people died and others were injured after a minibus taxi had a tyre burst and overturned on the R61 between Cradock and Graaff-Reinet.

Earlier this week, 15 people died in another minibus taxi accident near Graaff-Reinet News24 reported. The taxi was travelling from Saldhana Bay to Gatyane (Willowvale) in the Eastern Cape.

In another accident in the Eastern Cape at the weekend, on the R409 between Ndabakazi and Ngqamakhwe, five people died when a Corsa van and Toyota Avanza collided head-on.

The Eastern Cape Department of Transport spokesperson, Unathi Binqose, said: “We have deployed traffic officers but we are also calling on road users to play their role because we acknowledge that we cannot win this battle alone. All of these accidents we are seeing are head-on collisions and they tell a story that one was on the wrong side of the road, pointing to the issue of human factors.”

Multicar collision

On Sunday, on the N1 next to Ga Phasha village in Limpopo, seven people died in an accident involving seven cars, and five were injured and transported to hospital.

The MEC for transport in Limpopo, Susani Mathye, said, “Much as we know that the festive season is for enjoyment, we urge our drivers and pedestrians alike to be more cautious when driving or walking along our roads.”

In KwaZulu-Natal, an e-hailing driver was killed and a woman was wounded during a shooting incident in Amaotana, Verulam.

Three other passengers, who were not injured in the incident, said that while travelling towards Amaotana during heavy rainfall, a man fired multiple shots at their vehicle, before fleeing in another vehicle.

In Mpumalanga, two people were injured after a small vehicle collided with an ambulance on the N4.

In the Western Cape, Transport MEC Isaac Sileku said: “I appeal to residents and visitors in the Western Cape to adhere to traffic laws and exercise patience and caution on the roads. Let us all take personal responsibility for making our roads safer. Your actions on our roads can save lives.”

The national Department of Transport has deployed 85 national traffic police officers to augment law enforcement on Western Cape roads.

Significant increase

“In spite of all the efforts we have made to heighten law enforcement through the effective coordination of law enforcement operations by the Road Traffic Management Corporation, we still have seen a significant increase in fatal road traffic crashes so far in the festive season,” said Creecy.

She said  575,227 vehicles had been stopped at 561 roadblocks since 1 December.

The number of arrests, she said, had increased from 2,386 recorded for the same period in 2023 to 3,063, Of the 3,063 arrests, Creecy said, 941 drivers were arrested for driving drunk, while 230 were arrested for driving at excessive speeds.

Gauteng was the province with the most fatalities. Gauteng Traffic Police spokesperson Sello Maremane said the traffic department had intensified operations on the roads.

“We have refocused all our resources mostly on our freeways like the N1, N3 and N4 and not forgetting the fact that alcohol abuse was a contributory factor to some of the crashes that we have observed.

“We even deploy at taverns and shebeens where these people will be consuming alcohol and thereafter drive,” said Maremane.

At a media briefing in the Eastern Cape, Police Minister Senzo Mchunu said: “We are working closely with the Department of Transport to increase roadblocks on all major routes.” DM