Easter road carnage: Nearly 50 people killed in KZN

It has sadly been a bloodbath on KwaZulu-Natal roads this Easter long weekend, as the province’s Transport MEC Peggy Nkonyeni revealed that 47 people had been killed from Thursday, 1 April 2021 to Sunday,4 April.

Nkonyeni spoke at a roadblock at the Mariannhill Toll Plaza on Monday.

“Preliminary road accident reports reveal that 37 crashes resulting in 47 fatalities have been recorded in various parts of the province from April 1 to 4 2021, compared to five crashes resulting in six fatalities recorded in the same period in 2020 when the country was under level 5 Covid-19 nationwide lockdown. During the same period in 2019, a total of 31 crashes resulting in 40 fatalities were recorded in KwaZulu-Natal,” she said.

Traffic officials have been out and about this long weekend, manning most of the country’s major routes to ensure adherence to the road rules and lockdown regulations. This particularly as most South Africans are driving back to their respective destinations.

“Road fatalities are a major concern to the provincial government; however, it takes each individual to play their part in curbing the high rate of accidents that occur each year. No matter how many law enforcements officers we deploy, we can never be able to police every aspect of motorists’ behaviour, so this calls for us to individually take responsibility for our actions when we get behind the wheel”

KZN Transport MEC Peggy Nkonyeni

The MEC further expressed condolences to the friends and family of those who lost their lives in the road carnage.

“We wish to express our deepest condolences to the families of the people who lost their lives in these horrific accidents over the past three days. We also wish those fighting for their lives in hospital a speedy recovery,” she said.

Over 100 motorists nabbed in KZN during Easter weekend

Nearly 15 000 vehicles were stopped by road officials throughout KZN and a total of 111 motorists were arrested for various offences.

“This resulted in 1,345 written charges being issued, a total of 111 motorists were arrested for drunken driving, 324 motorists were charged for speeding, while 111 vehicles were suspended, and 48 vehicles impounded. A total of 356 motorists were charged for various offences that include driving without a driving licence, driving an unlicensed vehicle, inconsiderate driving and failure to wear a seat belt while driving,” she said.