Road crashes exert a heavy burden on the economy, society and families as they involve economically active members of society, many of whom are breadwinners and heads of families.
“Statistics show that deaths on South African roads increase substantially over the long weekends, with more people dying on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The abuse of alcohol has been identified as one of the key factors contributing to crashes,” The Road Motor Transport Corporation has said.
A study conducted by the corporation as well as the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has estimated that the cost of crashes to South Africa last year was R166.2 billion.
It is estimated that one death on the road represents an average loss of R4.6 million to the economy in terms of lost productivity, pain and suffering, medical costs, legal and funeral costs.
An analysis of statistics has identified the roads with the highest number of fatalities.
The analysis has confirmed that the top 10 roads and areas with the highest number of deaths nationally are:
- R71 Mankweng in Limpopo
- R573 Umhlanga in Mpumalanga
- N4 Nelspruit in Mpumalanga
- R61 Libode in Eastern Cape
- N1 Naboomspruit in Limpopo
- N2 Umkhomazi in KwaZulu Natal
- N2 Pongola in KwaZulu Natal
- N2 Idutywa in Eastern Cape
- R37 in Mecklenburg
- N3 Harrismith in the Free State.
A total of 254 people died on these roads last year and the human behaviour accounts for nine out of 10 fatal crashes that occurred on these roads.
SA Trucker urges all truckers to exercise extra caution when travelling on these parts of our roads to help reduce carnage.
Could there be another road which you think other truckers have to be warned about please post a comment on this post, our Facebook Page or email us on [email protected] or WhatsApp us on 084 717 8431
