Proactive operations in designated hotspots are paying dividends for Nelson Mandela Bay’s traffic services, leading to a drop in road fatalities compared to last year’s festive season.
Statistics for the Eastern Cape paint a bleaker picture, however, with the final road accident death toll expected to exceed last year’s number.
The exact figure is yet to be released by the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) but the provincial department of transport said more than 150 people had died in accidents so far this festive season.
Of that number, seven deaths were recorded in Nelson Mandela Bay.
The metro’s traffic and licensing director, Warren Prins, said the figure was well below the target set by officials.
“Over the previous festive season, we recorded 15 deaths on the metro’s roads.
“We were hoping to reduce that number by 10% this year, and currently we have brought it down by more than 50%, which we are very happy with.
“That being said, we will still be taking the next couple of days into account, but we hope to keep the number as low as possible,” Prins said.
He attributed the reduction in fatalities to “proactive policing” and identifying problem areas in advance, with traffic services focusing their efforts where they were most needed.
This resulted in 136 arrests for drunk driving — up from 124 last year.
The majority of arrests took place along the Bay’s coastal region.
“We don’t necessarily see this as an increase in lawlessness, but rather an improvement of our efforts to effect more arrests.
“Other arrests included overloading, specifically of taxis, and vehicles with fraudulent documents.”
Prins said final figures would be tallied later in January.
Meanwhile, provincial traffic spokesperson Unathi Binqose said the high number of roads deaths in the Eastern Cape was very concerning.
“We consider the coming days to still fall under the festive season and we expect an influx in road users as people return home from holidays and scholars return home in preparation for the start of the school year.
“We cannot confirm an exact number yet, but we know that we have exceeded 150 road fatalities, which is worrisome.”
According to the RTMC’s festive season reports, 154 people lost their lives on the road a year ago, while 191 died the previous year.
Binqose said though certain political parties had claimed more than 200 people had been killed in road accidents in the province this festive period, the figures had not been confirmed.
The RTMC would only release an official number once the season had ended.
He said because vehicle volumes on the province’s roads were expected to rise in coming days, more resources would be made available, particularly accident response personnel and first responders.
HeraldLIVE
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