Pedestrian deaths and drunk driving a huge concern on Western Cape roads

NATIONAL NEWS - Discussing the festive season road statistics yesterday, 27 January, Western Cape Mobility Minister Isaac Sileku, expressed his condolences to the families and loved ones of the 139 individuals who lost their lives on the province’s roads this festive season.

He said while any loss of life is devastating, he is encouraged by the fact that compared to last year there has been a 15.24% decrease in fatalities when 164 people died on our roads.

“Similarly, the number of fatal crashes dropped from 142 to 123 - a trend that affirms the positive impact of our approach.”

Pedestrians account for the highest number of fatalities, followed by passengers and then drivers.

Sileku said the Western Cape was the only province in South Africa with a 24/7 Traffic Law Enforcement service. “We deployed 701 officers supported by 356 vehicles across the province.”

Their efforts were complemented by:

The National Traffic Police, which deployed 82 officers and 17 vehicles.
The City of Cape Town, with 341 officers and 310 vehicles dedicated to managing traffic flow within the Metro.

A total of 1 695 integrated Traffic Law Enforcement operations were conducted, compared to 2 207 during the previous festive season.

“The focus of the festive season law enforcement differed from previous years, moving away from static operations to increased visibility through sector patrolling. This created a sense of increased law enforcement presence which led to improved road user behaviour,” Sileku said.

Officers also prioritised high-visibility patrols during nighttime and in hazardous locations, particularly on the N1, N2, and in high-risk Metro areas like Khayelitsha (N2) and Woodstock (N1).

Operations across the Western Cape led to the inspection of over 215 000 vehicles. From this, 905 arrests were made, including:

627 arrests for driving under the influence of alcohol, up from 576 last year, with males aged 18-35 the majority of offenders.
Other arrests included speeding, reckless and negligent driving, and fraudulent documentation.

He said 72 438 fines were issued for various traffic violations; a slight improvement compared to over 87 000 fines last year. “However, 72 000 fines remain a cause for concern and demonstrate that driver behaviour still needs significant improvement.”

Sileku said looking ahead, the following “sobering realities” cannot be ignored:

Pedestrian fatalities continue to dominate the statistics, despite showing a decrease of 6%.
Drunk driving remains a major contributor to road carnage, despite over 35 000 alcohol screenings conducted this season.

“Let us move forward with a shared resolve to make our roads safer and reduce the unnecessary pain that road incidents bring to so many,” Sileku said.

Drakenstein Partners.