South Africa has many well-kept highways and well-lit roads in major cities. Our roads often take motorists through beautiful scenery as well.
Many South Africans use our roads without any incidents. Unfortunately, some motorists will experience some form of accident on our streets in their lifetimes.
Let’s discover what the statistics reveal about the nature of driving on our roads. It pays to be aware of the facts before we all head out on the streets for our next trip, especially long-distance journeys this festive season.
Festive season 20181
Sadly, the preliminary Festive Season Road Safety Report stated that 1,612 people passed away on our roads during last year’s festive season, from 1 December 2018 to 8 January 2019. Regrettably, this accounted for a 5.56% increase compared to the same period the year before despite the government’s various road safety programmes.
The most significant number of fatalities occurred in KwaZulu-Natal during last year’s festive season. The annual holiday migration of motorists to this popular holiday destination means that the province’s roads are exceptionally busier during this time of the year.
Reckless driving isn’t safe1
According to the preliminary Festive Season Road Safety Report, reckless behaviour such as disobeying the rules of the road, accounted for 90% of the factors that cause accidents..
The remaining 10% contributing factors towards car accidents were made up of environmental factors and vehicle-related factors, as stated within the report. Environmental factors refer to poor weather and the resultant poor visibility and poor road conditions. It is recommended that you should slow down and increase the distance between your vehicle and the vehicles ahead on the road when weather-related poor visibility and poor road conditions occur. Vehicle-related factors refer to the roadworthiness of your car. Ensure that your car is fully roadworthy and do not overload it. For example, your vehicle may not stop quick enough in an emergency if your car’s tyres are not roadworthy.
Speeding is a bad idea for your safety and the safety of others on the road. It is also a criminal offence. There were 775 arrests that related to speeding this last festive season.
Alcohol and driving don’t go together1
Please don’t drink and drive. Alcohol is a significant problem when it comes to road safety in South Africa. Tragically, 58% of road-related deaths are related to alcohol abuse, according to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Global Status Report on Road Safety.
Drinking and driving can not only cause you and others harm on our roads, but like various traffic offences, you can go to jail. There were 2,223 arrests during last year’s festive season.
Please buckle up1,2
Wearing your seatbelt can save your life by decreasing the chance of fatality by 45%. The above WHO report stated that only 38% of drivers and 31% of passengers seated in the front of vehicles wear seatbelts.
Have a fantastic festive season this year!
We can all have a fun time out in our beautiful country this festive season. Make your holiday driving trip the best it can be by driving carefully, obeying all traffic laws and ensuring that your vehicle is roadworthy before you leave.
It may be a good idea to contemplate getting car insurance for your car as another precautionary measure. Perhaps you should consider getting affordable car insurance with PMD. Happy holidays and please drive safe.