The Western Cape government has warned that speed kills after provincial roads claimed 20 lives last week.
In a statement issued by the Western Cape Department of Transport, MEC Daylin Mitchell said that nearly two dozen deaths had been recorded in 19 accidents between 7 and 13 November, including eight drivers, six pedestrians, four passengers, one motorcyclist and a passenger on a motorbike.
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According to the MEC, nearly all collisions involved vehicles travelling in excess of 60kph.
The highest speeds recorded during this period were 165kph in a 120kph zone and 104kph when the speed limit was 60kph.
“Slowing down will give you more time to avoid pedestrians in the road,” said Mitchell.
“If you are travelling more slowly and you collide with a pedestrian, the pedestrian is more likely to survive.”
“Be particularly careful when you come across child pedestrians.”
“They may behave unpredictably and may struggle to understand how quickly a vehicle is moving.”
“Because children are short, in a collision, they are likely to be hit in the head and chest, and are therefore more likely to be killed,” Mitchell warned.
Last week also saw the provincial transport service implement 222 integrated roadblocks, vehicle checkpoints and speed control operations, which saw 32 320 vehicles stopped and checked.
These resulted in 9107 traffic violations ranging from reckless driving to unroadworthy vehicles.
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