The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) has urged motorists to use Black Friday to fix their vehicles as holidaymakers prepare for long-distance travel during the festive season.
According to the RTMC spokesperson Simon Zwane, unroadworthy vehicles are one of the major contributors to fatal road crashes in South Africa.
The RTMC's statistics show that 7% of road crashes during the festive season were attributed to the unroadworthiness of vehicles last year, a substantial increase on the previous year’s figures.
A total of 1 170 166 vehicles were recorded as unroadworthy at the beginning to 2019, a 9.91% increase when compared to the 1 064 623 recorded in 2017.
“Tyre bursts, defective brakes, smooth tyres and dysfunctional lights are some of the factors that have been identified as leading causes of fatal crashes involving unroadworthy vehicles,” Zwane said.
He is encouraging motorists who intend travelling over the festive season to book in their vehicles for service and repairs ahead of undertaking their trips.
“A reduction in unroadworthy vehicles can assist in reducing the number of avoidable crashes and take the country a step closer to achieving the global goal of reducing road fatalities by 50% by the year 2030,” he added. – SAnews.gov.za
