South Africa: Nearly Eleven lives were lost on the North West roads over the Christmas weekend. This brings the total of lives lost on Christmas Day to over sixty.
On Christmas Day, 25 December 2022, three people, two men and one woman, died instantly in a head on collision on N18 near Pudumong in Taung. In another fatality in Makhubung village outside Mafikeng, a 28-year old pedestrian was hit by a car old on N18 at 02:00.
On N4 in Dinokana, a 61-year old woman who was reportedly waiting for a taxi was hit by a car that allegedly lost control at 10:00. The other pedestrian who was with her was taken to the Zeerust hospital with serious injuries. A culpable homicide case is being investigated in all the crashes.
Cumulatively the figure is over twenty percent less than the same period last year, as sixty-seven lives were lost by Christmas Day. All arterial routes in the Province, including regional roads, have recorded higher than normal traffic volume, with N4 and N12 having more of it.
The MEC for the North West Department of Community Safety and Transport Management, Sello Lehari, appeals to all road users to be compliant with all regulations. Law enforcement officers have been ordered to strictly apply the law, especially on moving violations, as almost all fatal crashes are a result of deviant driver behaviour.
Worryingly there is a growing trend of pedestrians who die from road accidents, and most are reported not to be sober during those accidents and mostly during the night. MEC Lehari wishes all citizens of the North West Province a Merry Christmas and a safer festive all around.
Residents of the area seemed shocked and sat at the same time. One of the Facebook users said, “That is sad. However, what is the department says about the harassment taxi association is doing to other road travellers. In Rustenburg, there is a video going around of “taxi patrol” stopping Avanza and harassing them? Who gives them authority to stop cars, or are they law enforcement?
As per the residents, the police and safety department should take strict actions against this type of collision.