Pretoria - Young people are the main victims of fatal crashes on South African roads, Transport Minister Ben Martins told the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on Thursday.
Addressing the NCOP under the theme, Our collective action to make South African roads safer, the minister said it was a very unfortunate reality that road fatalities have become the major cause of unnatural death in the world.
In South Africa, Martins said about 40 people died every day due to road crashes, adding up to approximately 14 000 people annually.
“Available data and evidence indicates that young people are the main victims of road fatalities. Road fatalities result in a huge socio-economic cost, estimated at R306 billion per annum.
“South Africa’s mortality rate of 28 per 100 000 citizens dying as a result of road fatalities, is regrettably amongst the highest in the world,” he said.
The minister said various contributory factors behind the cause of fatal crashes included reckless and negligent human behaviour, defective motor vehicle conditions, road and environmental conditions.
However, he said the most prevalent human causes were alcohol abuse, jaywalking, passengers and drivers not using safety belts, excessive speeding, dangerous overtaking as well as driver fatigue.
“Compliance with the law remains a huge challenge. In particular, we have noted that only two percent of backseat passengers use safety belts, compared to 60 percent of drivers and front seat passengers who comply with the requirement,” he said.
The minister said they were currently improving co-ordination between the different spheres of government in order to achieve common objectives.
National, provincial and local government strategies included more stringent law enforcement, public education and awareness campaigns and direct support to vulnerable sectors of society, such as indigent learners who have to cross busy roads on their way to and from schools.
Martins said the level of the nation’s success in reducing road fatalities will depend on the role played by all stakeholders and communities.
“With regard to motor vehicle factors, the main causes are tyre bursts, faulty brakes and faulty steering wheels.
“There are many vehicles on our roads that are not in a roadworthy condition, yet these have been issued with roadworthy certificates due to fraud and corruption at some of the testing stations.
“We have instructed law enforcement agencies to use the full might of the law to address this plague of corruption that results in crashes and fatalities in many instances,” he said.
In 2009, 36 percent of the people who died were passengers, followed by 34 percent pedestrians and 30 percent drivers.
In 2010, passengers accounted for 38 percent, while the number of pedestrians and drivers stood at 33 percent and 29 percent, respectively.
Martins said the success of the enforcement measures on the major national and provincial roads indicated that greater attention should now be given to secondary routes in townships, villages and suburbs. - SAnews.gov.za
