Road fatalities in 2017 outpace 2016
Pini Bothoko | Thursday February 16, 2017 16:19
According to figures from the Department, 47 people have died on the roads thus far this year, compared to 36 at the same time last year.
DRTS acting director Bokhutlo Modukanele said the rising deaths due to road traffic accidents were a national emergency.
“These numbers should be everyone’s concern. You can imagine how many children are left as orphans today due to people’s reckless driving.
Families have lost breadwinners, while some youth are out of work after accidents put them in a state in which they can no longer carry out their duties,” Modukanele said at a road safety workshop.
He said investigations had shown that the majority of accidents are due to human errors that could have been avoided if drivers and pedestrians exercised caution.
“Accidents usually occur as a result of the misjudgment of drivers on the roads resulting in collisions,” he said.
“Most of the drivers fail to calculate the speed of other cars by the traffic lights and ended up colliding.”
He said some drivers have a habit of warning others of speed traps resulting in the affected drivers slowing down, avoiding detection, then speeding later to sometimes cause accidents.
“The country continues to lose effective people particularly the youth who are considered prime to the country’s economy,” said Modukanele.
“Young people are leading in the number of road accidents and they are the ones who have been acquiring drivers’ s licenses in large numbers.”
Between January and December last year, 83,612 class B licences were issued with 53,493 of that number being males.
The acting director said about 40,000 people register their cars annually, meaning the national vehicle population is continually getting denser, leading to more accidents.
He said despite the high number of vehicles and the need for added caution, some motorists continue to drive recklessly exposing their lives and those of others to danger.
He pleaded with motorists, particularly young people, to exercise caution on the roads, avoid driving under the influence of alcohol and to be patient with other road users like drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.
Modukanele said DRTS is committed to intensifying laws and regulations towards the reduction of road accidents and the elimination of road deaths.
“We have organised this workshop in order to plead with you to change your attitudes on the road. Make use of social media to encourage other young people to be cautious of the road,” Modukanele said.