Mpumalanga Records Fewer Fatalities and Crashes During Easter Holidays
Nelspruit:Mpumalanga MEC for Community Safety, Security and Liaison, Vusi Shongwe, has welcomed decreases recorded in fatalities and crashes during the Easter long weekend. According to the statistics, between 06 and 10 April 2023 there was a decline in crashes, fatal crash fatalities, and slight injuries.
This year, 101 crashes were recorded on various roads as compared to last year, where there were 106 crashes. There were fewer people killed in the province’s roads this year as compared to last year.
About 17 fatalities were recorded this year, while 23 deaths were recorded last year during the same period. The province further had 15 fatal crashes as compared to 18 such crashes during the previous Easter holidays.
Meanwhile 77 people sustained serious injuries as compared to 76 such cases last year. This year’s Easter saw seven passengers, three drivers and seven pedestrians losing their lives. The previous Easter, only five pedestrians were killed.
Nkangala and Gert Sibande regions registered the highest number of road deaths with each registering six fatalities. Ehlanzeni recorded five fatalities. The statistics have further revealed that municipality roads recorded a high number of crashes, followed by the N4 toll road, N17, N2 and R571 roads.
Most of the crashes were as a result of pedestrians being hit by moving vehicles, head-on collisions, losing control of vehicles in motion, vehicles overturning, sideswipe and head-rear collisions.
Meanwhile, over 24 000 vehicles were stopped in various roads across the province. More than 9000 stopped vehicles went through weighbridges, and this included over 8000 heavy motor vehicles, which were mainly trucks as well as light delivery vehicles (LDVs) and mini-bus taxis.
About 5155 drivers were issued with summonses for various offences ranging from reckless and negligent driving, defects in vehicles to reckless and negligent driving. 40 people were also arrested for drinking and driving. About 69 vehicles were discontinued, and 109 impounded for various defects.
Traffic volumes, as expected, were at the highest on Thursday and Monday as many people were returning to work and home after the long weekend, while on the other hand, inland schools reopened for the second term. Roads such as N4, N3, N2, R536, R573, and R40 were among the busiest, and this may have played a hand in fewer crashes that were reported.
However, law enforcement officers who were deployed on a 24-hour shift basis from 06 to 11 April 2023 have played a major role in buffering the impact of high traffic volumes associated with Easter traffic and also reduction in crashes and fatalities.
The MEC has attributed these reductions to increased cooperation between road users and law enforcement. He is, however, concerned about the number of pedestrians who continue to lose their lives on the road. He has also attributed the successes to the cooperation between all road safety stakeholders and the security cluster in the province.
Shongwe also thanked all security cluster members for all the hard work they put to ensure that reductions in fatalities were made and also ensuring compliance to the rules by most motorists.
“Although one death is one too many, we are content that our plans have yielded results. We will continue to draw lessons out of all of the reports so that we enhance plans for the next holiday seasons.”
“We are grateful to all our officials who tirelessly worked throughout the long weekend in order to save lives. Our emergency personnel also did a sterling work as they responded to various crash scenes across the province,” said Shongwe.
He further thanked road users who obeyed the rules and worked with law enforcement officers. The MEC is also sending his heartfelt condolences to all families who lost their loved during these holidays. He also wishes those who were injured a speedy recovery.
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