Each year, road fatalities spike during the festive season, and the holiday period has been no different from that of other years. More than 150 road users have perished across Western Cape roads since December 1 2018.
Provincial Traffic Chief, Kenny Africa says he is shocked by huge number of fatalities this year compared to the same period in previous years.
“Most of these fatalities that we experienced was either people losing control of their vehicles and fatigue, which is one of the leading causes of accidents on our roads,” he told EWN.
Alcohol, cell phone usage, and fatigue continue to be the main causes of road accidents.
“People are taking on these long-distance trips and just don’t listen when advised to stop every 200 km or two hours,” he says.
However, Africa says pedestrians are the majority of people killed on roads this festive season.
He advises people walking to be alert, wear reflective clothing and to follow the rules of the road.
Africa warns drivers that they will be arrested for speeding and endangering the lives of other road users, including pedestrians.
“We had more than seven taxi drivers that were arrested on the N1 near Beaufort West on reckless and negligent driving. This past weekend, we had tested all vehicles for speed and over 900 drivers were charged for exceeding the speed limit.”
Picture: Pixabay
