Current Date: 29 Mar, 2024

Western Cape and KZN anticipate fewer holiday season traffic fatalities as travelers return home

The Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal are hoping for fewer traffic fatalities this holiday season. According to early reports, fewer people are dying in both provinces.
This week, it's anticipated that vacationers will depart from the coastal provinces.

Western Cape and KZN anticipate fewer holiday season traffic fatalities as travelers return home

The coastal provinces are hopeful that early signs could indicate a decline in road fatalities as vacationers return home from the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. 

Preliminary reports indicate that there have been fewer traffic fatalities than anticipated during the holiday season, according to KwaZulu-Natal Transport Community Safety and Liaison MEC Sipho Hlomuka.

The province set a target of a 10% reduction, and current indications show that we have reached a 13% reduction. He added that most tourists are returning home at this time, so the situation is being watched.

The province reported 275 fatalities during this time last year. The province's roads have recently experienced heavy traffic, particularly on the N2 and N3.  Hlomuka reported that more than 88 500 vehicles had been stopped during this holiday season.

He said:

Although our performance evaluation is still in its early stages, all signs point to a decline in accidents and fatalities. However, we are staying focused because our enforcement teams still keep an eye on traffic.

In addition, until the start of the school year, we intend to keep an eye on our entire network.

According to the Western Cape transport department's weekly reports, between December 5, 2022, and January 2, 2023, at least 97 fatalities occurred on the province's roads.

A straightforward addition of weekly fatality figures, according to spokesperson Jandre Bakker, would differ from the final findings announced after the holiday season.

This is due to the Western Cape's adherence to the 30-day rule, which adds a fatality to the statistics if a person passes away up to 30 days following the traffic-related incident.

The road users most likely to die on the roads are pedestrians. More than half of all fatalities on the streets are caused by them. Despite high traffic volumes, Bakker stated that the department "remains cautiously optimistic" because this year's figures are still lower than last year's comparable period.

The previous holiday season saw more than 207 fatalities. According to Lwaphesheya Khoza, the department's spokesperson, the statistics on traffic fatalities will be made public in the upcoming weeks by Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula.

Because inland schools begin on Wednesday, she continued, it was anticipated that travelers returning from vacation would be on the roads until Sunday.

Excellence Chukwuma Chukwunaedu

Excellence Chukwuma Chukwunaedu

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