Here’s where and when truck and bus fatalities occur on SA roads

The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) has released results from its baseline study which indicate when and where most fatalities involving trucks and buses. 

The RTMC said its study was based on 4 001 trucks and buses that were involved in fatal crashes between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2022. 

HERE’S WHERE TRUCK AND BUSES FATALITIES OCCUR BY PROVINCE 

RTMC said a total of 2 560 fatal crashes were recorded with 3 413 fatalities with a combined crash severity of 1.33 (average fatalities per crash). 

• The KwaZulu-Natal province recorded the highest number of fatal crashes with 21.6% or 552 where trucks and buses were involved. 
• The lowest number of truck and bus related fatal crashes were recorded in the Northern Cape province with only 2.5% or 65 such crashes. 
• A total of 455 buses were involved in 323 fatal crashes with 487 fatalities recorded in such crashes. 
• The Gauteng province recorded the highest number of fatal crashes where buses were involved with 23.5% or 76 fatal crashes. 
• The lowest number of bus fatal crashes were recorded in the Northern Cape province with 1.9% or 6 such crashes. 

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DAYS OF THE WEEK AND TIMES 

RTMC spokesperson Simon Zwane said truck crashes were further analysed to indicate the day of the week and the time of the day during which most truck crashes occur. 

• The most crashes where trucks were involved over the study period are between 18:00 and 22:00 on Saturdays with 187 reported crashes where trucks were involved or 5.3% of such crashes.
• Second highest, between 18:00 and 22:00 on Sundays with 176 or 5.0% of crashes where trucks were involved.
• The most fatal crashes where trucks were involved occurred on during the four-hour period between 18:00 and 22:00 on Saturdays and Sundays with a combined total of 363 or 10.2% such fatal crashes.

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CRASHES INVOLVING BUSES

• According to RMTC, the most fatal crashes where buses were involved over the study period are between 05:00 and 08:00 on Sundays with 36 or 7.0% of such crashes recorded. 
• The second highest period where buses were involved in fatal crashes were between 05:00 and 08:00 on Saturdays with 25 or or 5.5% of such crashes.
• Most fatal crashes where buses were involved occurred on Saturdays and Sundays with a combined total of 57 or 12.5% of fatal bus related crashes. 
• The time between 05:00 and 05:00 has the highest recorded fatal bus related crashed with 126 or 27.7% such fatal crashes. 
• The most fatal crashes where trucks were involved over the study period were recorded on the N3 in the Harrismith SAPS Area in the Free State province where 44 trucks were involved in 26 fatal crashes with 45 fatalities recorded.
• A total of 71.2% or 148 of the fatal truck related crashes occurred in the Kwa-Zulu-Natal, Limpopo and the Mpumalanga provinces. 
• The province with the most road segments with truck related fatal crashes within the Top 20 is the KwaZulu-Natal province.

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