Lockdown leads to significant decrease in Easter road deaths
South Africa recorded 28 deaths compared to 162 during the same period last year.
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula released the Easter road statistics at the N1 Grasmere Toll Plaza on Friday.
"The number of vehicles dropped over the Easter period, as the majority of people stayed at home in compliance with the lockdown regulations. A 70% reduction in traffic volumes, also had a corresponding effect on the number of traffic violations,” he said.
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Mpumalanga recorded the highest number of deaths at seven, followed by Kwazulu-Natal (6), Eastern Cape with five, while there were three each in Gauteng, Western Cape and North West. Limpopo recorded a single death and the Free State and the Northern Cape none.
Mbalula confirmed that only one person was arrested for speeding and 11 for drunk driving.
"Any attempt to compare year-on-year figures will be a futile exercise as the material conditions this Easter were fundamentally different from a normal period where traffic can move freely. The total number of arrests for violation of road traffic laws stood at 719."