OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Sunday 5.30pm.
THE roads death toll at midday on Sunday was 707. Traffic volumes are expected to increase to between five and seven times the normal level in the next 24 hours as holiday makers head home from the coast. Over 100 road blocks have been set up to monitor drivers.
Traffic on the roads between Durban and Johannesburg were 3 000 vehicles per hour, and 2 000 vehicles per hour on the roads from Cape Town.
Arrive Alive reported that the death toll by province was: 96 in Gauteng; 141 in KwaZulu-Natal; 110 in the Western Cape; 27 in the Northern Cape; 86 in the Eastern Cape; 47 in the North West; 58 in the Northern Province; 68 in Mpumalanga and 74 in the Free State.
There had been 521 fatal crashes involving the deaths of 234 drivers, 246 passengers and 227 pedestrians. The cause of most accidents was high speed and drunk driving.