Fatal traffic accidents in South Africa WORST in the world – report
Road users are four-times more likely to die in traffic accidents in South Africa than the global average. Here’s more …
Little is being done to stem the number of fatal traffic accidents in South Africa. Transport Minister Barbara Creecy has been in office for months now and has done seemingly little to make road users safer in South Africa. According to a new report by online driving school Zutobi, titled The World’s Safest Roads, South Africa’s blacktops are by some considerable margin the most dangerous in globally, reports TimesLive.
24.5 fatal traffic accidents in South Africa occur per 100 000 people. Meanwhile the global average is just 6.3 per 100 000. Therefore, every time you step out of your house and onto the streets, you are in four-times more danger than the global average. Specifically, the report highlights a low percentage of seatbelt adherence. And a high number of drunk drivers on Mzansi’s roads as reasons for this. However, a big contributing factor it neglected to mention is large bus and minibus taxi accidents that lead to multiple fatalities.
FATAL TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS IN SOUTH AFRICA
According to the online driver education platform, Norway has the world’s safest roads, with just 1.5 deaths per 100 000 people. Iceland is second and Japan third. Only 30% of passengers in South Africa reportedly buckle up, compared to Norway’s 98%. Zutobi reminds us that seatbelts and child-restraint systems are among the most effective measures to protect occupants in the event of a collision.
Nevertheless, according to South African law, it is compulsory for children under the age of three years to be strapped into a car seat. Furthermore, the research shows South Africa still has one the highest alcohol-related road traffic death rates globally – 57.5%. Meanwhile, Malaysia has the lowest amount of alcohol-related road traffic deaths, just 0.1%.
INCREASED FATALITIES OVER FESTIVE SEASON
Worryingly, Minister Creecy only had bad news to share earlier in the year. She revealed that more than 1 500 people had died in 1 234 traffic accidents in South Africa over December and January. A year-on-year increase of 5.3% compared to the previous festive season.
So, how do we turn the tide on South Africa’s nightmarish roads? Zutobi lists major contributing factors to fatalities: speeding, distracted driving and driving under the influence of alcohol, among other things. And improved government awareness campaigns should be used to try and help educate road users to avoid these dangerous behaviours.
DO YOU THINK SOUTH AFRICA’S ROADS ARE THAT DANGEROUS?
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