South Africa’s roads claimed 28 lives from 26 accidents that took place during the just-ended Easter weekend in the country, Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula said on Friday.
Mbalula said most crashes involved pedestrians and single vehicles overturning on the country’s roads, with contributions of 38% and 19%, respectively.
Mbalula said this year’s figure was a significant drop compared to last year, when some 104 deaths were recorded during the Easter holidays that ended on Monday.
Although there was low traffic on the roads due to the nationwide lockdown, the low death toll was still a source of concern, the minister said.
“Any attempt to compare year-on-year figures will be an exercise in futility as the material conditions are fundamentally different from a normal period where traffic is able to move freely,” he said.
NM/jn/APA