Holiday Death Toll Rises to 1,150 in S. Africa

Holiday death toll rises to 1,150 in S. Africa

JOHANNESBURG, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) — A total of 1,150 people have died in about 985 traffic accidents in South Africa since December 1, the Department of Transport said on Wednesday.

Department spokesman Collen Msibi said this was a slight decrease compared to 1,311 deaths in the same period last year.

The dead were 453 pedestrians, 380 passengers and 317 drivers.

A total of 226 died in KwaZulu-Natal province, 217 in Gauteng, 139 in the Eastern Cape, 118 in Mpumalanga, 116 in the Western Cape, 106 in the North West, 103 in the Free State, 86 in Limpopo and 39 in the Northern Cape.

Msibi said causes of the accidents included jaywalking, driver fatigue, speeding, alcohol consumption, tyre bursts, faulty brakes, and overloading with passengers.

According to a Road Traffic Management Corporation report from last month, at the end of May there were 7.3 million registered vehicles on South African roads.

(c) 2006 Xinhua News Agency – CEIS. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.