South Africa Struggles to Reduce Road Fatalities
January 29, 2013
After yet another deadly holiday season on South Africa’s roads, the government is calling on citizens to do more to prevent accidents - especially as more than half the accidents were linked to alcohol use. The country ranks among the worst in the world in highway safety, with 40 people dying every day in road accidents.
Driving while intoxicated
It's an ordinary Friday night in Soweto, a township in the south of Johannesburg. The officers in charge of taking blood samples to measure alcohol levels can barely keep up with the influx of seemingly intoxicated people arriving at the station. At a nearby roadblock, 15 people were arrested in less than two hours for driving under the influence.
The national Road Traffic Management Corporation says there were 1,279 road deaths between December 1 and January 1 - citing drunk driving as the main cause. And it says 40 percent of the fatalities involved pedestrians who were walking on the road while drunk.
Every year, 14 000 people die on the road in South Africa. The World Health Organization says the country ranks among the world's worst in road safety.
Gary Ronald, of the Automobile Association of South Africa, says the government must do a better job to educate the public.
"More information, more education, not just at schools. It has to be in the general public space. And we certainly don't get that. I would for one would really like to see a road safety program education, information, on all channels of media, every single day. That has not happened. Not for the last 20 years it has not happened," he said.
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