The festive season holds an infamous reputation for a stream of collisions and roadside fatalities. However, preliminary investigations have revealed that this past festive season noted a decrease in these numbers across KwaZulu-Natal.
Sharing their thoughts on the decrease, the KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison and the KZN Department of Transport stated that they were pleased with the drop in collisions and fatalities over the 2023 period.
“The province had set a target of 10 percent reduction and the indications currently are that we are at a 13% reduction. The situation is currently being monitored as most holiday makers are making their way back,” said the Transport Department.
However, the government entity added that it should be noted that there were currently high volumes of traffic mainly on the N2 and N3.
“There are other provincial roads which are linking small towns which are heavily monitored by traffic enforcement, comprising of the Road Traffic Inspectorate (RTI), National Traffic Police (NTP) and local authorities.”
More than 88 502 vehicles were stopped this Festive Season and more than 10 730 charges were meted against road users violating the traffic regulations.
Commenting on the Festive Season enforcement, KZN MEC Hlomuka, commended the law enforcement agencies, saying their visibility and commitment were yielding positive results.
“Whilst we are at a preliminary stage of the assessment with our performance, but all indications are pointing to a decrease on both crashes and fatalities. We are, however, not taking our eyes off the ball as our enforcement teams are still monitoring the movement on the road. Our plan will be to monitor all our network until the schools are opened. We are also encouraged by the work of our enforcement agencies.”
The Department further appealed to road users to continue observing traffic regulations and behave responsibly.
What are your thoughts on all of this? Share your views in the comment section below.
Iould be surprised if the number of accidents did not decrease as less tourists visited KZN this year. KZN had a decrease in tourists as they are seeking cleaner and safer venues to visit. Sewage in the sea, road conditions (including N2 and N3), protest actions and the water situation along the coast all contributed to less tourists