Cape town: The Department of Transport’s mid-term festive season preliminary road safety report reveals a significant decrease in road fatalities compared to the same period last year, with 113 lives saved. Minister of Transport, Barbara Creecy, announced that the number of fatal crashes dropped from 545 last year to 431 this year, and fatalities decreased from 638 to 505.
According to South African Government News Agency, Creecy addressed a media briefing in Cape Town concerning the preliminary report of the 365 Days Arrive Alive Road Safety Campaign for the 2025 festive season. She highlighted a 20.9% reduction in fatal crashes and a 20.8% reduction in fatalities from December 1 to 16. This improvement is attributed to intensified law enforcement, road safety education, and public messaging.
The Free State emerged as the best-performing province, reducing major crashes from 40 to 19 and road deaths from 61 to 20, translating to a 67.2% decrease in fatalities. Despite Gauteng reducing crashes by 12%, it remains the highest contributor to the death toll, with 105 fatalities in 95 crashes. KwaZulu-Natal reported 88 fatalities from 85 crashes, the Western Cape recorded 66 deaths from 55 crashes, and the Eastern Cape registered 52 fatalities from 45 crashes.
Additional statistics include Mpumalanga’s 69 fatalities from 50 crashes, North West’s 34 deaths from 28 crashes, Limpopo’s 40 road deaths from 34 crashes, and Northern Cape’s 31 road deaths from 20 crashes. Despite strong enforcement, Mpumalanga and Northern Cape saw increases in fatalities, indicating persistent behavioral risks.
The report indicates an average of 32 fatalities per day, the lowest in five years. The primary crash types include accidents involving pedestrians, hit-and-runs, single-vehicle overturns, and head-on collisions. Pedestrians account for 44% of the road toll, passengers 28%, drivers 26%, and cyclists 2%.
Minister Creecy warned that despite the positive trends, peak travel days like Christmas and New Year are forthcoming, with high traffic volumes expected. The return of holidaymakers in early January will likely result in increased congestion.
Creecy emphasized that while enforcement impacts incident rates, fatal crashes remain unacceptably high. Factors such as alcohol misuse, speeding, fatigue, and unsafe pedestrian behavior dominate the risk landscape, compounded by adverse weather conditions. The Minister stressed the necessity of pairing enforcement with behavioral change to enhance road safety.
The government will uphold 24-hour high visibility patrols on highways and secondary routes in the coming days.