Transport Minister Barbara Creecy has warned that the government will take a hard line against lawlessness on South African roads during the festive season.
She stressed that saving lives remains a top priority during the Christmas and New Year’s period.
“We will in the coming days maintain 24-hour high-visibility patrols on highways and secondary routes,” Creecy said on Friday.
“We will undertake alcohol operations every day of the festive season with high intensity over the weekend, and we will patrol areas of pedestrian density to improve compliance with road regulations.”
She identified alcohol-related crashes, excessive speed, reckless driving, driver fatigue, and pedestrian deaths, particularly in peri-urban and rural areas, as the most serious risks.
According to Creecy, these dangers underline the fact that road deaths can be prevented if behaviour changes.
As she gave the mid-term review of the 2025 festive season road safety campaign, Creecy said the festive period brings increased travel, family gatherings, and economic activity, but also sharply higher road risks.
Creecy emphasised that the campaign is part of a long-term national effort to reduce crashes and fatalities beyond the holiday season.
Early figures suggest that enforcement and awareness efforts are having an impact.
The preliminary data indicates a decrease in fatalities compared to the same period last year. Between December 1 and 16, fatal crashes fell by 20.9%, while fatalities decreased by 20.8%.
Ongoing trauma on the roads
She said the government remains encouraged by the trend but warned that it masks the ongoing trauma on the country’s roads.
During the first half of December, 55 crashes in the Western Cape alone claimed the lives of 66 people.
Gauteng, despite reducing crashes by 12%, remains the biggest contributor to the death toll, with 105 people killed in 95 crashes.
KwaZulu-Natal recorded 88 fatalities in 85 crashes, while Mpumalanga saw 69 deaths in 50 crashes.
The Eastern Cape recorded 52 fatalities, Limpopo 40, North West 34 and the Northern Cape 31.
According to Creecy, Free State emerged as the best-performing province, recording a 67.2% decrease in fatalities.
Major crashes dropped from 40 last year to 19 this year, while road deaths were reduced from 61 to 20.
Overall, fatal crashes nationally declined from 545 last year to 431 this year, with fatalities falling from 638 to 505.
113 lives saved
According to Creecy, law enforcement, education, and direct engagement with road users have saved 113 lives. The daily average of 32 deaths is the lowest in five years.
“Pedestrians remain our priority concern over this period, and we have noticed fewer transgressions from this category and have seen a 57.9% decrease in pedestrian arrests.
“We have also noticed a decrease in the number of drivers arrested for speeding, lowered by 7.8%, which could be attributed to greater law enforcement visibility,” said Creecy.
She said the most dangerous travel days are still ahead, with heavy traffic expected in the days leading up to Christmas and New Year, as well as during the first weekend of January when holidaymakers return to cities for work and school reopenings.
She noted that Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape recorded year-on-year increases in fatalities, showing that risky behaviour remains a serious challenge.
