Pretoria - The Road Accident Fund (RAF) has begun offering assistance to the families of the 17 people who lost their lives in two separate motor vehicle accidents in Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal over the weekend.
In Middelburg, Mpumalanga, a truck and taxi collided head on, instantly killing 10 people with one survivor sustaining serious injuries. In KwaZulu-Natal, seven people died on the P34 between Dundee and Vryheid when a vehicle collided with a truck while trying to overtake.
“A team of RAF personnel was immediately dispatched from the organisation’s Pretoria and Durban office when news of the accidents first broke. Contact has already been made with police and relevant hospitals to begin processing the necessary compensation, medical support and funeral benefit for those who qualify,” said Dr Eugene Watson, RAF Chief Executive Officer.
The RAF teams will continue consultations with the grieving families after the funerals to originate claims for loss of support for the surviving dependents, and qualifying heads of damages for the injured, as stipulated in the RAF Act.
“We are in pain as the RAF family following these sad incidents, as is the case with other accidents that cause the needless death of road users. However, we will do everything in our power to ease the emotional and financial burden.
“Road safety is a shared responsibility for all concerned, and greater urgency is required to tackle the spate of accidents in the country. As we stress in our ongoing #myroadyourroad campaign, think of others before yourself when you’re on the road. All road users – drivers, passengers and pedestrians alike – are asked to implement unselfish road practices,” Dr Watson said.
The RAF’s services are easily accessible at their regional offices located in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban, East London and Cape Town, including the over 100 Hospital Service Centres scattered throughout the country.
More information about the addresses and contact numbers of all these offices can be accessed on www.raf.co.za.
Alternatively, for more contact details and information regarding RAF’s services, contact the call centre on 0860 23 55 23 or follow the RAF on social media: Twitter, @RAF_SA; Facebook, Road Accident Fund and Instagram, RAF_ROAD. – SAnews.gov.za
