Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy, alongside Mkhuleko Hlengwa, Creecy’s deputy, revealed on Sunday, 1 December, that more than 10 000 people died on South Africa’s roads in 2024 alone, Cape {town} Etc reports.
Both Creecy and Hlengwa, together with transport MECs from several provinces, launched the department’s festive season road safety campaign for this year. This campaign aims to reduce road accidents and fatalities, according to Eyewitness News (EWN).
With the theme ‘Every Day Without a Road Death – South Africa 2024’, Creecy emphasised 2024’s focus areas, which included the ‘strategic deployment’ of law enforcement officers and awareness initiatives to support the campaign, as reported by Freight News.
In total, 10 154 lives were lost in 2024, according to Creecy.
‘We have 800 national traffic officers and are deploying them to provincial hotspot areas […] We are also going to be conducting a number of routine operations,’ said Creecy.
‘The high incidence of road crashes and their associated consequences significantly impact South African society. This impact is measured in terms of lost human lives, pain, grief, and suffering, and comes at a considerable cost to the economy,’ Creecy added.
Previously in 2022, there were 12 436 recorded fatalities on South African roads. It should be noted that pedestrian deaths accounted for a substantial portion of these incidents.
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