The total number of people killed in road accidents during the Easter holidays was 276, up from 257 last year, the Department of Transport said on Wednesday.
This is an increase of 19 fatalities over the same period last year (Thursday to Monday).
Of the 276 fatalities, 93 were pedestrians, 68 were drivers and 115 passengers.
On Monday, the department’s figures had stood at 139 killed — fewer than the number killed in 2006. However, a departmental spokesperson Ntau Letebele said it was too early to speculate, as many people were still on the roads.
”Most of the fatalities were due to high speed, drivers not stopping in time and taking long to take corrective action,” Arrive Alive spokesperson Ntau Letebele said on Wednesday, adding drunken driving as a cause of fatalities as well.
Higher-than-average Easter traffic volumes were also experienced on all the key arterial routes over the Easter weekend, he said.
”Most road users, particularly those on the national routes, cooperated by ensuring that speed limits were observed and the following distance respected,” he said.
The wearing of seat belts for front occupants also improved, but not enough rear-seat passengers wore their seatbelts. — Sapa