The road death toll for December has risen to 1 215, the Department of Transport said on Wednesday.
Spokesperson Collen Msibi said 512 of the fatalities were pedestrians, 414 were passengers and 289 were drivers.
The figure is down from 1 234 reported in the same period last year.
A total of 243 people have died in KwaZulu-Natal, 199 in Gauteng, 148 in the Eastern Cape, 125 in the Western Cape, 124 in Mpumalanga, 121 in Limpopo, 111 in North West, 105 in the Free State and 39 in the Northern Cape.
Msibi said the figures have stabilised, compared with those of previous years.
This has happened as the vehicle population increased by 6,38% or 477 205 to 795 1076 vehicles, and the number of new drivers increased by 779 000 to 7 490 333.
”To deal with this high level of unsafety, traffic authorities will increase the number of patrol vehicles on the road, law-enforcement officers and unmarked vehicles to do more spot checks and roadblocks,” Msibi said.
”Our analysis has revealed that most accidents are preceded by offences such as ignoring road signs, driving drunk, speeding, vehicles cutting in front of others, driving defective vehicles and fatigue.” — Sapa