Dangerous roads ahead
In a bid to boost efforts to ensure road safety and for motorists to be made aware of dangerous roads in South Africa during the festive season this year, the South African Department of Transport (DOT) has launched its 2024 Festive Season Road Safety Campaign.
According to IOL, the campaign, recently launched by Transport Minister Barbara Creecy, comes amid worrying statistics, which showed that in 2023, 11 883 road fatalities were recorded around South Africa, costing the economy R205 billion, with 1 285 deaths occurring during the festive season alone.
“These statistics are sobering. The number of road crashes and the impact on our people and our country is a tragic story of death and destruction, year in and year out. Behind every statistic is a story – a life lost, a family left grieving, or often there is a person dealing with life-changing injuries,” Creecy said.
The Minister also added that the Department of Transport was working alongside the Road Traffic Management Corporation, as well as with the relevant provincial and municipal departments to ensure a much safer festive season in South Africa this year.
20 accident routes identified
So that motorists are aware, the department identified 20 dangerous roads and routes based on accident data. These routes around South Africa will see heightened law enforcement and monitoring over the festive season:
- Limpopo: R71 Mankweng, R37 Mecklenburg, N1 Naboomspruit
- Mpumalanga: R573 KwaMhlanga, N4 Vosman, N4 Nelspruit
- Gauteng: R21 Kempton Park
- North West: N12 Potchefstroom, N12 Klerksdorp
- KwaZulu-Natal: N2 Pongola, N2 Umkomaas
- Eastern Cape: R61 Mzamba, N2 Libode, N2 Idutywa, R61 Umthatha, N2 Mount Ayliff
- Western Cape: N2 Khayelitsha
Creecy also added that stringent monitoring had been put in place along these routes in South Africa and will include a focus on speeding, vehicle roadworthiness, and drunk driving.
What roads and routes are also known to be dangerous and prone to accidents over the festive season?
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