Almost 80 people have been killed on Eastern Cape roads since the beginning of the festive season.
A total of 205 people, which included stabbing, gunshot and car accident victims, were declared dead on arrival at hospital from December 1 until yesterday.
While the road accident death toll in the province has decreased compared with the same period last year, staff at Eastern Cape hospitals have been kept busy with 208 cases of trauma from eight regions.
Of the 208 people treated, the Sarah Baartman district recorded the highest number with 143 reported cases, followed by Nelson Mandela Bay Metro with 40 cases.
Chris Hani, with one, and Alfred Nzo, with two, had the lowest number of trauma cases.
OR Tambo, Buffalo City Metro and Joe Gqabi had nine, seven and six trauma cases respectively.
Provincial traffic department deputy director Charles Bramwell said while there was a reduction in the number of deaths on the road, “a life lost is still one too many”.
From December 1 to 26, there had been 187 crashes and 79 fatalities, he said.
This was an improvement compared with December 1 last year to January 5 this year, when 278 people were killed on Eastern Cape roads.
“The decrease can be attributed to higher visible patrols zero tolerance law enforcement prosecution, specifically on moving violations,” he said.
“We have closely studied our statistics for December 2015 and are striving to bring about a reduction of 50%.”
While the provincial death toll is at 79, Transport Minister Dipuo Peters announced at the weekend that more than 845 people countrywide had lost their lives on the roads since December 1.
She attributed the statistics mainly to human error and drunk driving.
But Bramwell said lawlessness or reckless driving would not be tolerated by law enforcement officers deployed around the province.
From December 1 to Monday, 71213 cars had been stopped and checked, while 8184 summonses had been issued for various transgressions, the top traffic officer said.
Of the vehicles that were stopped, 170 unroadworthy cars were taken off the road and 224 drivers were nabbed for drunk driving.
Another 24 people were arrested for various crimes, 153 warrants of arrests were executed and 46 stray animals impounded, Bramwell said.
Authorities have also sent a stern warning to motorists as the festive season is not yet over, saying no reckless driving will be tolerated.
Meanwhile, provincial health spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said their officials at forensic units where autopsies are performed had been under pressure since the start of the festive season.
This was because of the increase in the number of corpses being brought to the units.
“Motor vehicle accidents are costing a lot of money for the state and also those who survive gunshot wounds require specific treatment. All trauma cases are costing the state,” he said. — ndamasem@dispatch.co.za
79 killed in E Cape festive season crashes
A total of 205 people, which included stabbing, gunshot and car accident victims, were declared dead on arrival at hospital from December 1 until yesterday.
While the road accident death toll in the province has decreased compared with the same period last year, staff at Eastern Cape hospitals have been kept busy with 208 cases of trauma from eight regions.
Of the 208 people treated, the Sarah Baartman district recorded the highest number with 143 reported cases, followed by Nelson Mandela Bay Metro with 40 cases.
Chris Hani, with one, and Alfred Nzo, with two, had the lowest number of trauma cases.
OR Tambo, Buffalo City Metro and Joe Gqabi had nine, seven and six trauma cases respectively.
Provincial traffic department deputy director Charles Bramwell said while there was a reduction in the number of deaths on the road, “a life lost is still one too many”.
From December 1 to 26, there had been 187 crashes and 79 fatalities, he said.
This was an improvement compared with December 1 last year to January 5 this year, when 278 people were killed on Eastern Cape roads.
“The decrease can be attributed to higher visible patrols zero tolerance law enforcement prosecution, specifically on moving violations,” he said.
“We have closely studied our statistics for December 2015 and are striving to bring about a reduction of 50%.”
While the provincial death toll is at 79, Transport Minister Dipuo Peters announced at the weekend that more than 845 people countrywide had lost their lives on the roads since December 1.
She attributed the statistics mainly to human error and drunk driving.
But Bramwell said lawlessness or reckless driving would not be tolerated by law enforcement officers deployed around the province.
From December 1 to Monday, 71213 cars had been stopped and checked, while 8184 summonses had been issued for various transgressions, the top traffic officer said.
Of the vehicles that were stopped, 170 unroadworthy cars were taken off the road and 224 drivers were nabbed for drunk driving.
Another 24 people were arrested for various crimes, 153 warrants of arrests were executed and 46 stray animals impounded, Bramwell said.
Authorities have also sent a stern warning to motorists as the festive season is not yet over, saying no reckless driving will be tolerated.
Meanwhile, provincial health spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said their officials at forensic units where autopsies are performed had been under pressure since the start of the festive season.
This was because of the increase in the number of corpses being brought to the units.
“Motor vehicle accidents are costing a lot of money for the state and also those who survive gunshot wounds require specific treatment. All trauma cases are costing the state,” he said. — ndamasem@dispatch.co.za
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