There were 1 582 road-accident deaths over the festive season, Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele said on Tuesday.
KwaZulu-Natal recorded the highest death toll with 298, and the Northern Cape the lowest with 66, Ndebele said at the release of the statistics in Pretoria.
There had been 1 247 vehicle crashes. This was a slight decrease compared with the previous year’s figure. However, “the decrease is so minimal”.
“It’s no particular age group who drives badly on the roads, it’s individuals.”
Ndebele said over last year’s Confederations Cup no major road accidents had been reported. “However, it is important to contrast that behaviour [of driving] during soccer events to [that of the festive season]. Our behaviour on the road is not expressive of a free democratic people.”
Drivers tended to believe they were the only ones on the road and ignored fellow motorists and pedestrians. — Sapa