RTMC 2022-State of Road Safety Reporta

State of Road Safety in South Africa
‘January 2022 to December 2022’

Table of Content
LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................... 3
1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................................. 7
2 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 8
2.1 NRSS Target .......................................................................................... 8

2.2 Methodologies and Data limitation ............................................................. 9
2.2.1 Road crash data collection methodology ................................................ 9
2.2.2 Crash Data Flow .............................................................................. 10
2.2.3 Data processing .............................................................................. 10
2.2.4 Limitations ..................................................................................... 10
3 ROAD SAFETY COLLECTION METHODOLOGY ........................................... 11
3.1 Background.......................................................................................... 11
4 STRUCTURE AND CULTURE ..................................................................... 12
4.1 Characteristics...................................................................................... 12
4.2 Population ........................................................................................... 13
4.3 Climate ............................................................................................... 14
4.4 Road network ....................................................................................... 15
4.5 Vehicle population ................................................................................. 17
4.6 Structure of Road Safety Management ..................................................... 18
4.6.1 Road Accident Fund ......................................................................... 20
4.6.2 South African National Roads Agency Limited ....................................... 20
4.6.3 Cross-Border Road Transport Agency .................................................. 20
4.6.4 Road Traffic Infringement Agency....................................................... 21
4.6.5 ROAD TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT CORPORATION ...................................... 21
5 ROAD SAFETY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS ........................................... 22
5.1 Speed Operations ................................................................................. 22

5.2 Alcohol Operations Conducted ................................................................. 24
5.3 Awareness Interventions ........................................................................ 25
5.4 Schools INTERVENTIONS In Road Safety ProgramMEs ................................ 26
6 PERFORMANCE ON NATIONAL ROAD SAFETY STRATEGY ........................ 27
6.1 Pillar 1: Road Safety Management ........................................................... 28
State of road safety report: 1 Jan 2022 – 31 December 2022 0

6.2 Pillar 2: Safer Roads and Mobility ............................................................ 29
6.3 Pillar 3: Safer vehicles ........................................................................... 30
6.4 Pillar 4: Safer Road Users ....................................................................... 30
6.5 Pillar 5: Post-Crash Response ................................................................. 31
6.6 Summary of the implementation status .................................................... 31
6.7 Challenges to date ................................................................................ 32
7 ROAD SAFETY OUTCOMES....................................................................... 33
7.1 FATAL CRASHES AND FATALITIES ........................................................... 33

8 PEDESTRIAN SAFETY .............................................................................. 45
8.1 Pedestrian fatalities ............................................................................... 45

9 COST OF CRASHES .................................................................................. 56
10 ROAD SAFETY RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING ..................................... 57
10.1 ROAD SAFETY RESEARCH .................................................................... 57

10.2 ROAD SAFETY ENGINEERING ............................................................... 57
11 POST-CRASH ........................................................................................ 59

List of Tables
Table 1: Breakdown of South African road network in km .................................... 15
Table 2: Number of registered vehicles per type................................................. 17
Table 3: Summary of NRSS implementation status ............................................. 32
Table 4: Fatal crashes per province .................................................................. 33
Table 5: Fatalities per province ....................................................................... 34
Table 6: Pedestrian fatalities ........................................................................... 45
Table 7: Pedestrian fatal crashes per province ................................................... 45
Table 8: Pedestrian fatalities per province ......................................................... 46
Table 9: Pedestrian fatalities per time of day (age 0-14 years) ............................. 51
Table 10: Percentage of fatal pedestrian crashes per day of the week and time bin .. 55
Table 11: Registered emergency vehicles .......................................................... 59

List of Figures
Figure 1: Progression towards NRSS Target ......................................................... 9
Figure 2: South African population per province ................................................. 13
Figure 3: South African climate ....................................................................... 14
Figure 4: Percentage vehicles per road authority ................................................ 16
Figure 5: Percentage vehicles registered per province on 31 December 2022. ......... 18
Figure 6: Entities of the Department of Transport ............................................... 19
Figure 7: Speed arrests .................................................................................. 23
Figure 8: Drunken driving arrests .................................................................... 25
Figure 9: Percentage change in number of fatal crashes per province from 2021 to 2022
.................................................................................................................. 34
Figure 10: Annual Percentage change in fatalities per province from 2021 to 2022 .. 35
Figure 11: Estimated road traffic death rate (per 100 000 population) ................... 35
Figure 12: Percentage distribution of fatalities per road user type ......................... 37
Figure 13: Fatal crashes per day of the week ..................................................... 38
Figure 14: Percentage distribution of fatalities per age group for 2021 - 2022 ......... 39
Figure 15: Percentage distribution of fatalities per gender for 2021 - 2022 ............. 40
Figure 16: Percentage distribution of fatalities per population group ...................... 41
Figure 17: Percentage distribution of fatalities per population group per road user ... 42
Figure 18: Percentage distribution of fatalities per major contributory factors ......... 43
Figure 19: Percentage distribution of fatalities per contributory factor .................... 44
Figure 20: % Pedestrian fatal crashes of all fatal crashes per province ................... 46
Figure 21: % Pedestrian fatalities of all fatalities per province .............................. 47
Figure 22: Pedestrian fatalities per age group .................................................... 48
Figure 23: Pedestrian fatalities (age 0 – 14 years) .............................................. 48
Figure 24: Crashes distribution per time of day for Pedestrian (age 0 – 14 years) .... 49

Figure 25: Fatalities distribution per time of day for Pedestrian (age 0 – 14 years) .. 50
Figure 26: Average number of fatalities per 100 000 population (age 0 – 14 years) . 52
Figure 27: Pedestrian fatalities per day of the week ............................................ 53
Figure 28: Estimated Cost of Crashes ............................................................... 56

List of Acronyms and Abbreviations
ABBREVIATION
INTERPRETATION
/ ACRONYM
AR Accident Report
CBRTA Cross-Border Road Transport Agency
CEO Chief Executive Officer
CHoCOR Culpable Homicide Crash Observation Report
Corporation Road Traffic Management Corporation
CSIR Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
DOT National Department of Transport
EMS Emergency Medical Services
NaTIS National Traffic Information System
NCDMS National Crash Data Management System
NRSS National Road Safety Strategy (2016-2030)

NRTA National Road Traffic Act
RAF Road Accident Fund
RIMS Road Incident Management System
RTI Road Traffic Information
RTIA Road Traffic Infringement Agency
RTMC Road Traffic Management Corporation
SAIA South African Insurance Association
SAMRC South African Medical Research Council
SANRAL South African National Roads Agency

SAPS South African Police Service
UNDA United Nations Decade of Action
SAIA South African Insurance Association
SAMRC South African Medical Research Council

SANRAL South African National Roads Agency

1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This review of the State of Road Safety covers a 12-month period, 1 January
2022 to 31 December 2022. For the sake of proper analysis, the report compares
the 2021 and 2022 calendar year road crash statistics.
The vehicle population increased by 2.04% from 12 697 733 in 2021 to 12 957
208 in 2022.
A total of 52 648 Speed Operations with 275 595 notices issued and 1 089
arrests. 7 280 alcohol operations were conducted resulting in 11 217 arrests.
A total of 5 992 awareness interventions (vs. 3 860 in 2021) and 4 403 school
interventions (vs. 2 115 in 2021) were carried out.
The implementation of the National Road Safety Strategy remains a priority in

the country; funding of the operationalisation of the strategy remains a key
challenge. There is a continuous effort to engage private sector for collaboration
on implementation of road safety initiatives.
Fatal crashes decreased by 1,5% (from 10 607 in 2021 to 10 446 in 2022).
Fatalities decrease by 0,8% (from 12 541 in 2021 to 12 436 in 2022).
Forty-three percentage (43%) of road user fatalities are pedestrians. Male

fatalities account for ¾ of total road fatalities. Death of children between 0 to 14
years account for 10,2% of fatalities, and 41,4% for the age group 25 to 39.
60,8% of road fatalities occur over weekends (Friday to Sunday).

2 INTRODUCTION
This report aims to provide an overview of the state of road safety in South
Africa from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2022. The Road Traffic Management
Corporation is mandated by the Road Traffic Management Corporation Act, No.
20 of 1999 to report on road crashes in South Africa.
Over the last five years, South Africa has seen a decline in the number of road
crash fatalities; however, the reduction has not been significant to meet the
2010 - 2020 Decade of Action goals. Performance thus far is slightly below the
set targets for the 2016 - 2030 National Road Safety Strategy (NRSS).
Therefore, if the set rate of reduction is consistently met then the NRSS targets
will be met. (see figure 1 below)
2.1 NRSS TARGET
The NRSS 2016-2030 set a target of reducing fatalities in the country by 50%
by 2030 from 13,967 fatalities that were recorded in 2010. The graph below
shows the rate of reduction which ramps up as systems and operations are
streamlined.
The other NRSS 2016-2030 target is the reduction of serious injuries by 50% by
2030. Due to the limited data that is currently collect this target is not measured.
The intention is to implement a methodology that will collect all road crashes
regardless of their severity and then classify them accordingly. Once this
methodology is implemented it will be possible to measure progress towards
attaining the 50% reduction of serious injuries.

Figure 1: Progression towards NRSS Target
There are key focus areas that when combined, will lead to the attainment of
the target and this report is structured to provide an update, challenges, and
planned interventions within that focus area.
2.2 METHODOLOGIES AND DATA LIMITATION
2.2.1 Road crash data collection methodology
The Culpable Homicide Crash Observation Report (CHoCOR) form is utilised to

collect fatal road crash data on daily basis. South African Police Service (SAPS)
and the Provincial Transport Departments are the main sources of the fatal crash
data. SAPS provide the Corporation with a list of all recorded fatal crashes (CAS
list) and, the Corporation receive the CHoCOR forms from various police stations.
Provincial Departments send their fatal crash data to the Corporation. The data

from both sources is consolidated and any discrepancies are sorted with the data
providers. Road Traffic Management Corporation captures, processes and
verifies the data to compile reports.
2.2.2 Crash Data Flow
The CAS List is sent from SAPS Head Quarters, SAPS stations send the data that
is collected through the CHoCOR forms and provincial departments send details
of the fatal crashes too. All this data is consolidated into one occurrence for
purposes of further processing.
2.2.3 Data processing
The data is captured and verified for compilation of consolidated statistical

report. There is a continuous engagement with SAPS and provinces for validation
purpose.
2.2.4 Limitations
The road traffic information contained in the report is based on the fatal crashes
only. There is a need for in-depth research to be conducted to collect scientific
based facts to complement the administrative data.

3 ROAD SAFETY COLLECTION METHODOLOGY
3.1 BACKGROUND
In previous editions of the State of Road Safety reports, the RTMC focused on
the fatal road crash information, with the key Road Safety initiatives, Law
Enforcement interventions and progress on the implementation of the NRSS.
Countries with similar road safety challenges have elevated the matter of road
safety and amongst others, these countries publish comprehensive annual State
of Road Safety reports with an objective to drive the road safety agenda at the
highest level possible.
However, key challenges remain a hindrance in the South African context

including:
• Limited data collection and information processing to understand macro and

micro societal factors affecting the set targets in road safety;
• The various platforms that exist in the fraternity, noting that multiple
stakeholders are interlinked with Road Safety in South Africa - including and
not limited to the South African Police Service, provincial and local
government, non-governmental agencies and the private sector – each
pursuing their priority activities aligned to their mandate;
• The inherent corruption associated with the road traffic fraternity, which
extends from the acquisition of a driver’s license to road traffic law
transgressions and limited implications thereafter;
• Road user behaviour remains a challenge in the country including:
o Driving at an inappropriately high speeds in certain sections of the road;
o Driving under the influence of alcohol;
o Intoxicated pedestrians, jay walking, not using demarcated crossing
spaces and
o Distracted driving notably, the use of a mobile phone whilst driving.

4 Structure and Culture
4.1 CHARACTERISTICS
South Africa, the southernmost country on the African continent, renowned for
its varied topography, great natural beauty, and cultural diversity, all of which
have made the country a favoured destination for travellers since the dawn of
democracy in 1994. The vast majority of black South Africans were not
enfranchised until 1994.
South Africa is a developing country and ranks 114th on the Human

Development Index, the seventh highest in Africa. It has been classified by the
World Bank as a newly industrialized country, with the second-largest economy
in Africa, and the 33rd-largest in the world. South Africa also has the most
UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Africa. The country is a middle power in
international affairs; it maintains significant regional influence and is a member
of the G20.
Today South Africa enjoys a relatively stable mixed economy that draws on its
fertile agricultural lands, abundant mineral resources, tourist attractions, and
highly evolved intellectual capital. Greater political equality and economic
stability, however, do not necessarily mean social tranquillity. South African
society at the start of the 21st century continued to face steep challenges: rising
crime rates, ethnic tensions, great disparities in housing and educational
opportunities, and the AIDS pandemic.
South Africa is bordered by Namibia to the northwest, by Botswana and

Zimbabwe to the north, and by Mozambique and Swaziland to the northeast and
east. Lesotho, an independent country, is an enclave in the eastern part of the
republic, surrounded by South African territory. South Africa’s coastlines border
the Indian Ocean to the southeast and the Atlantic Ocean to the southwest.

4.2 POPULATION
According to Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), the midyear population of South
Africa has increased to an estimated 60,6 million people in 2022. The population
of Gauteng is approximately 16 million, the province with the highest portion of
the county’s population. KwaZulu-Natal follows with the second highest portion
of the population with 11,5 million people with the Northern Cape province
having the smallest portion of the population of only 1,3 million. Stats SA
estimates the female population to be 30,98 million females (51,1%) of the total
population.
An estimated 28% of the population is aged younger than 15 years and

approximately 9,2% (5 million) is 60 years or older. Of those younger than 15
years of age, the majority reside in KwaZulu-Natal (21,8%) and Gauteng
(21,4%). Of the elderly (those aged 60 years and older), the highest percentage
24,1% (1,31 million) reside in Gauteng.
Figure 2: South African population per province

4.3 CLIMATE
South Africa’s long coastline – some 2,800 kilometres – influences much of the
climate. On the west coast is the cold Atlantic Ocean, and the warmer Indian
Ocean on the south and east. Starting at the hot and arid desert border with
Namibia in the northwest, South Africa’s coastline runs south down the cold
Skeleton Coast, around the Cape Peninsula to Cape Agulhas. This is the
southernmost tip of Africa, said to be where the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet.
In fact, it is here, slightly offshore, that two coastal currents meet, currents that
determine the different coastal climates. The cold Benguela current sweeps the
west coast, and the warm Agulhas current the east.
Figure 3: South African climate

From Cape Agulhas the coastline moves east and slowly northwards, and the
climate becomes warmer and wetter. The Western Cape’s pretty green Garden
Route gives way to the forested Wild Coast in the Eastern Cape, and then humid
subtropical KwaZulu-Natal coast, famous for its beaches. In the northeast, the
coast reaches the border of Mozambique.
Running along most of the coast is a narrow low-lying strip of land, which soon
gives way to a higher plateau – the Great Escarpment. The high altitude of South
Africa’s interior means the country is generally much cooler than southern
hemisphere countries at the same latitude, such as Australia.
4.4 ROAD NETWORK
The South African Road Network consists of approximately 750,000 km of road

and is estimated to be the tenth largest road network in the world. The following
table illustrates the breakdown of the road network of road authorities within
the country.
Table 1: Breakdown of South African road network in km
Road Authority Surfaced Unsurfaced Total

SANRAL 21 946 0 21 946
Provinces - 9 42 411 226 273 268 684
Metros - 8 51 682 14 461 66 143
Local Municipalities 37 691 219 223 256 914
Total 153 730 459 957 613 687
Un-Proclaimed (Estimate) 133 291 133 291
Estimated Total 153 730 593 248 746 978
The National, or roads under the jurisdiction of the South African Roads Agency
(SANRAL) accounts for 3.6% of proclaimed roads with the road network of the

9 provincial road authorities accounting for 43.8% of the network (see graph
below).
Figure 4: Percentage vehicles per road authority
Surfaced roads in South Africa consists of 25.1% of proclaimed roads and

unsurfaced (earth/gravel) roads 74.9%.

4.5 VEHICLE POPULATION
South Africa is the middle-income country with a high number of registered

vehicles. Based on July 2022 mid-year population estimates South Africa has
60 624 976 people.
Table 2: Number of registered vehicles per type
Number of Number Number % of

Registered registered Dec registered Dec % Group % of Total
Vehicles 2021 2022 Change Change Dec 2022 Dec 2022
Motorised Vehicles
Motorcars 7 652 077 7 685 153 33 076 0,43 65,54 59,28
Minibuses 349 671 349 335 - 336 -0,10 2,98 2,69
Buses 64 340 64 170 - 170 -0,26 0,55 0,49
Motorcycles 347 631 346 153 - 1 478 -0,43 2,95 2,67
LDV's - Bakkies 2 671 314 2 658 416 - 12 898 -0,48 22,67 20,51
Trucks 389 112 385 845 - 3 267 -0,84 3,29 2,98
Other & Unknown 237 872 237 199 - 673 -0,28 2,02 1,83
Total Motorised 11 712 017 11 726 271 14 254 0,12 100,00 90,45
Towed Vehicles
Caravans 97 824 95 885 - 1 939 -1,98 7,92 0,74
Heavy Trailers 221 267 224 580 3 313 1,50 18,55 1,73
Light Trailers 897 181 889 977 - 7 204 -0,80 73,52 6,86
Total Towed 1 216 272 1 210 442 - 5 830 -0,48 100,00 9,34
All other unknown 28 920 27 717 - 1 203 -4,16 100,00 0,21
All Vehicles 12 957 209 12 964 430 7 221 0,06 100,00
As at the end of December 2022 the number of registered vehicles increased by

0,06% from 12.957 million in 2021 to 12.964 million in 2022 as depicted in the
table above. Within the motorised vehicles category, there has been a decrease
except for Motorcars which increased by 0,43%.

Figure 5: Percentage vehicles registered per province on 31 December 2022.
At a provincial level in South Africa as at the end of December 2022; most

vehicles are registered in Gauteng with a distribution of 38,33% followed by
Western Cape at 16,23% and KZN at 13,42%. The three provinces Gauteng,
Western Cape and KwaZulu Natal share a percentage distribution of 67,98%.
4.6 STRUCTURE OF ROAD SAFETY MANAGEMENT
The National Department of Transport is responsible for the policy and legislation
governing roads and public transport. This is implemented through provincial
departments, local government and public entities. In terms of Schedule 5 of
the Constitution, provincial roads and traffic are an exclusive provincial function,
while municipal roads, traffic and parking are exclusive Schedule 5B municipal
functions. Public transport is a concurrent Schedule 4A function of both national
and provincial government. While municipal public transport is a Schedule 4B
concurrent municipal function.

The strategy of the DoT has been guided by five strategic priorities that define
the work of the Department and the political agenda over the term of this
administration. The following key five (5) priorities have been identified which
will guide the effort of the sector:
• Safety as an enabler of service delivery;
• Public transport that enables social emancipation and an economy that

works;
• Infrastructure build that stimulates economic growth and job creation;
• Building a maritime nation, elevating the oceans economy; and
• Accelerating transformation towards greater economic participation
The Department of Transport Road Agencies:
Figure 6: Entities of the Department of Transport

4.6.1 Road Accident Fund
The Road Accident Fund (RAF) is a juristic person established by an Act of

Parliament, namely, the Road Accident Fund Act, 1996 (Act No. 56 of 1996) as
amended (”RAF Act”). It commenced operations on 1 May 1997, assuming at
the time, all the rights, obligations, assets and liabilities of the Multilateral Motor
Vehicle Accidents Fund.
The RAF is responsible for providing appropriate cover to all road users within
the borders of South Africa; rehabilitating and compensating persons injured as
a result of motor vehicles in a timely and caring manner; and actively promoting
the safe use of all South African roads. Section 3 of the RAF Act stipulates, “the
object of the Fund shall be the payment of compensation in accordance with this
Act for loss or damage wrongfully caused by the driving of a motor vehicle”.
4.6.2 South African National Roads Agency Limited
The South African National Roads Agency SOC Ltd (SANRAL) is a South African
parastatal responsible for the management, maintenance and development of
South Africa's proclaimed National Road network which includes many (but not
all) National ("N") and some Provincial and Regional ("R") route segments
4.6.3 Cross-Border Road Transport Agency
The Cross-Border Road Transport Agency (C-BRTA) exists to improve the cross-
border flow of commuters and freight operators who make use of road transport.
Its function as an interstate operations agency is to reduce mobility constraints
for road transport operators, in the form of regulating market access and issuing
cross-border permits, while facilitating sustainable social and economic
development in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.

4.6.4 Road Traffic Infringement Agency
The Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) performs its functions in terms of
subsection (1)(a) of the AARTO Act. The objectives of the agency are, to
administer a procedure to discourage the contravention of road traffic laws and
to support the adjudication of infringements; to enforce penalties imposed
against persons contravening road traffic laws; to provide specialised
prosecution support services; and to undertake community education and
community awareness programmes to ensure that individuals understand their
rights and options.
4.6.5 ROAD TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT CORPORATION
The RTMC operates under the stewardship of the Department and facilitates an
effective partnership between national, provincial and local spheres of
government in the management of road traffic matters.
The overriding aim of the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) is to

overcome the current fragmentation of traffic management functions across
hundreds of provincial and local jurisdictions, and to bring a new professional
coherence and improved morale into the entire system; in support of enhanced
co-operative and co-ordinated road traffic strategic planning, regulation,
facilitation and law enforcement; strengthening national and provincial
governments’ collective capacity to govern road traffic through partnerships with
local government bodies and the private sector; and focussing government on
effective strategic planning, regulation, facilitation and monitoring.

5 Road Safety Performance Indicators
5.1 SPEED OPERATIONS
A total of 52 648 Speed Operations were conducted from the period of January
to December 2022.
For the first quarter 5 708, second quarter 17 559, third quarter 12 779 and
fourth quarter 16 602 speed operations were conducted.
Speed is a critical risk factor for road traffic injuries. As average traffic speed
increases so too do the likelihood of a crash. If a crash does happen, the risk of
death and serious injury is greater at higher speed as the amount of available
time needed to avoid a crash / to stop the vehicle is reduced and the ability of
the driver to steer safely around curves or objects on the road is also reduced.
The National Road Traffic Act, 1996 regulates speed limit according to different
routes where road users can operate vehicles on:
• 60 km/h on a public road within an urban area

• 100 km/h on public road outside an urban area which is not a freeway;
and
• 120 km/h on every freeway.
Provision is also made that certain vehicles (minibuses, buses and goods
vehicles) shall not exceed the speed limits imposed on tyres by SABS 1550 or
as approved by the manufacturer of such tyres. A maximum speed limit of 80
km/h for a goods vehicle with a GVM exceeding 9000 kg, a combination vehicle
consisting of a goods vehicle (i.e drawing vehicle and one or two trailers) of
which the sum of the GVM of the goods vehicle and of the trailer(s) exceeds
9000 kg and an articulated vehicle of which the GCM exceeds 9000 kg.

Most road users transgress with the speed regulations and the law enforcement
operations were intensified to curb reckless and negligent driving, thus ensuring
that South African roads are safe. A total of 52 648 speed operations were
conducted from the period of January to December 2022. For the first quarter,
5 708, second quarter 17 559, third quarter 12 779 and fourth quarter 16 602
speed operations were conducted. From all operations conducted, 275 595
notices were issued, and 1 089 arrests were reported.
About 58% of the arrests were recorded in Gauteng (all Gauteng Authorities
including National Traffic Police), 16 % of the cases were recorded in Free State
while 14% of cases in Western Cape and North West recorded the lowest arrests
with 0,5%. Figure 7 below provides a breakdown of speed arrests reported.
Speed Arrests: 2022

500 459
450
400
350
300
250
200 174 181
145
150
100
24 27 30 34
50 10 5
0
EC FS GP LIM KZN MP NC NTP NW WC
Figure 7: Speed arrests

5.2 ALCOHOL OPERATIONS CONDUCTED
Road users who are impaired by alcohol have a significantly higher risk of driving
recklessly and being involved in a crash as result of impaired vision, reduced
hearing ability and slow reaction. Not only road users get affected when crash
happened, but infrastructure, families get affected by the loss of loved ones,
traffic slow down due to road closure by the time crash is given attention.
Section 65 of the National Road Traffic Act; 1996 (Act No. 93 of 1996) (the
“NRA”’) sets out the legal limits and prohibitions for driving whilst under the
influence. It provides that no one shall drive or even occupy the driver’s seat of
a motor vehicle (with the engine running) on a public road if their blood alcohol
content is over the legal limit. For normal drivers, the concentration of alcohol
in any blood specimen must be less than 0,05 gram per 100 millilitres, and in
the case of a professional driver, less than 0,02 gram per 100 millilitres. The
concentration of alcohol in any specimen of breath exhaled must be less than
0,24 milligrams per 1 000 millilitres, and in the case of a professional driver, less
than 0,10 milligrams per 1 000 millilitres. Based on the said regulation and non-
compliance of the road-users on the use of alcohol while driving, the Law
Enforcement Authorities deemed it prudent and extremely important to mount
“Driving Under the Influence” (DIU) operations to clamp down on motorist
operating their vehicles under the influence of alcohol as a mitigation strategy
as well as to send a stern warning accordingly.
More than 11 000 drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol
in 2022 when 7 280 alcohol operations were conducted from January until
December 2022. A total of 360 operations were conducted in the first quarter,
1 305 in the second quarter, while 2 997 and 2 618 operations were conducted
in the third and fourth quarter respectively.

From the total of 11 217 arrests reported, Gauteng lead with 49%, Western
Cape follow with 23% and East Cape with 9% while Northern Cape reported
least cases with 0,09% of arrests. Figure 8 below provides a breakdown of
drunken driving arrests reported.
Drunken driving arrets: 2022
5550
2542
1009 47 399 196 23 9 663 779
EC FS GP LIM KZN MP NC NTP NW WC
Figure 8: Drunken driving arrests
5.3 AWARENESS INTERVENTIONS
A total of 5 992 Road Safety Awareness Interventions were implemented from

January until December 2022. Comparably from the previous year, there is an
increase of 2 132 Road Safety awareness interventions implemented, which
resulted in 64% increase.
For the period starting from January to March 2022, a total of 1 193 Road Safety
awareness interventions were implemented, and 4 799 in the period from April
to December 2022.

Most number of interventions were undertaken during October to December
2022, and this can be attributed to heightened awareness during peak traffic
periods. Driver interventions were predominantly undertaken followed by
pedestrian safety. Youth activations were noted however this did not seem to be
a primary focus area even though the target audience are considered high risk.
The successful implementation of road safety awareness initiatives can be

attributed to collaborative effort with private sector stakeholders.
5.4 SCHOOLS INTERVENTIONS IN ROAD SAFETY

PROGRAMMES
A total of 4 403 schools were involved in Road Safety Programmes from January
until December 2023. There is an increase of 2 115 Schools Involved in Road
Safety Programmes compared to the previous year which resulted in 52%
increase.
Many of the interventions have been part of structured road safety school
programmes with once- off awareness activities also recorded. The heightened
focus of interventions from April to June 2022 could be due to stakeholders
investing more efforts in the beginning of the new financial year due to the
availability of funding.

6 PERFORMANCE ON NATIONAL ROAD SAFETY
STRATEGY
For the period starting from October to December most schools were not
involved in Road Safety programmes due to extra curriculum activities for the
Learners to prepare for the end of the year examinations.
The period 2022 marked the first year of the 2nd Decade of Action for Road Safety
2021 – 2030, as per the UN General Assembly resolution A/RES/74/299
themed "Improving global road safety".
The objectives of the decade remained the reduction of road fatalities and
injuries by 50% by the end of 2030. The emphasis is on the importance of a
holistic approach to road safety and calling on continued improvements in the
design of roads and vehicles, enhancement of road traffic laws and traffic law
enforcement, and provision of timely, life-saving emergency care for the
injured.
The implementation of the National Road Safety Strategy (NRSS) 2016-2030 is

in line with the Global Action Plan for Road Safety as supported by the 82
outlined initiatives.
The National Road Safety Strategy 2021 – 2030 has identified Pillar 1 which is
Road Safety Management as an overarching competency that cut across 5
Pillars.
These Pillars are as follows:
➢ Pillar 1: Road Safety Management – which is led by the Department
of Transport (DOT)

➢ Pillar 2: Safer Roads – which is led by the South African Road Agency
Limited (SANRAL),
➢ Pillar 3: Safer Vehicles – which is led by the Department of Trade,
Industry and Competition,
➢ Pillar 4: Safer Road User – which is led by the Road Traffic
Management Corporation, and
➢ Pillar 5: Post Crash Care – which is led by the Road Accident Fund.
This section aims to provide a summary on progress to date per Pillar on the
implementation of the National Road Safety Strategy and some hurdles towards
the realisation of halving the fatalities and injuries by 2030.
6.1 PILLAR 1: ROAD SAFETY MANAGEMENT
This pillar is key in enabling the ease of development of interventions of the

strategic intentions of the National Road Safety Strategy by bringing in the
necessary legislative amendments, resourcing of the coordinating Agencies as
well as mobilisation of support within the Government Departments and the
Private Sector.
There are 25 interventions under this Pillar and are separated into 6 strategic
themes, with the following implementation status:
o 12, representing 48% of the interventions of the Pillar are being
implemented,
o 7, representing 28% of the interventions of this Pillar are undergoing
various stages of development before approval for implementation.
o 6, representing 24% of the interventions of the Pillar are still to undergo
development phases.

The 6 interventions that are still to be developed requires multisectoral
leadership engagements and consensus.
6.2 PILLAR 2: SAFER ROADS AND MOBILITY
The focus of this Pillar is ensuring that engineers and planners design
forgiving roads, that is, roads which will ensure road users are not killed and
serious injuries are minimised as a result of an error by a road user. This
pillar is largely led by SANRAL and Provincial Authorities responsible for road
construction and rehabilitation.
implemented,
o 1, representing 10% of the interventions of this Pillar is undergoing
various stages of development before full implementation.
o There is no outstanding intervention under this Pillar.
Notwithstanding that road authorities such as SANRAL determine hazardous

Location Programmes on their respective road networks, the RTMC assists on a
macro level where Hazardous Road Segments or segments of road within a
defined SAPS Area.
The RTMC through the National Road Traffic Engineering Committee (NRTETC)
promote the development of road safety assessment capacity within road
authorities as well as the implementation of the iRAP road safety assessment
programme on a national level.

6.3 PILLAR 3: SAFER VEHICLES
This pillar focuses on introducing technology to improve vehicle safety, which

aims to actively prevent road crashes (e.g. stability control) and passively to
minimise the impact of the crash on the fallible human beings and frail human
structure.
implemented by the Road Traffic Law Enforcement Agencies.
6.4 PILLAR 4: SAFER ROAD USERS
The strategic objective of this pillar aims to improve the road user behaviour
through road safety education and awareness programmes.
implemented,
o 5, representing 17% of the interventions of the Pillar are still to undergo
development phases.
The 5 interventions that are still to be developed requires some additional

resources and the other 2 interventions are in the long term phase.

6.5 PILLAR 5: POST-CRASH RESPONSE
If Pillars 2 – 4 did not provide the adequate protection required to prevent a

road crash, pillar 5 focuses on preventing fatalities (by saving injured lives)
and to reduce to impact of serious injuries when a crash has occurred. As
such, the immediate response for medical assistance and treatment
thereafter is largely led by the Department of Health and much later, by the
Road Accident Fund (RAF). The key initiatives under the pillar are:
implemented,
o 7, representing 58 % of the interventions of the Pillar are still to
undergo development phases.
The 7 interventions that are still to be developed comprise of 4 that are for
long term phase and the 3 are for the short-term phase. These interventions
are a subject of discussion between the Coordination Agent and the
Department of Transport.
6.6 SUMMARY OF THE IMPLEMENTATION STATUS
The table below is derived from the summation of performance updates from the Roads
Entities and Department of Transport.

Table 3: Summary of NRSS implementation status
IMPLEMENTATION SHORT MEDIUM LONG

% TOTAL
STATUS TERM TERM TERM
Being Implemented 35 11 1 57% 47
Undergoing
Development 6 6 4 20% 16
Phases
To be developed 9 3 7 23% 19
TOTAL 50 20 12 82
A total of 57% of the interventions are being implemented, 20% are in the
development phase and 23% still to be developed.
A total of 70% of the Short-Term intervention are being implemented, 55% of

the Medium-Term Interventions are being implemented and 8% of the Long-
Term interventions are being implemented.
6.7 CHALLENGES TO DATE
• Funding for road safety remains a challenge. This therefore requires a

review of priorities, improved planning, targeted interventions. There
has been continuous effort towards engagement of private sector for
collaboration on implementation of road safety initiatives.
• There is still opportunity for better coordination of effort towards road
safety to realize greater impact.

7 ROAD SAFETY OUTCOMES
7.1 FATAL CRASHES AND FATALITIES
At least 10 466 fatal crashes were reported by end of year 2022. This is a
reduction of 1.5% when compared to 2021 figures.
Table 4: Fatal crashes per province
Year EC FS GP KZN LP MP NC NW WC RSA

2021 1316 609 2289 2143 1118 1013 327 704 1088 10607
2022 1215 569 2321 1998 1070 1012 325 667 1269 10446
Change -101 -40 32 -145 -48 -1 -2 -37 181 -161
% Change -7,7% -6,6% 1,4% -6,8% -4,3% -0,1% -0,6% -5,3% 16,6% -1,5%
When considering the changes per province between the year 2022 and 2021;
the highest percentage decrease is in Easter Cape at -7.,7% followed by
Kwazulu-Natal at -6,6% and Free Sate at -6,6%. The only increases are in
Western Cape at 16,6% and Gauteng at 1,4%.

Figure 9: Percentage change in number of fatal crashes per province from 2021 to
2022
Table 5: Fatalities per province
Year EC FS GP KZN LP MP NC NW WC RSA

2021 1533 799 2557 2409 1400 1261 403 908 1271 12541
2022 1471 740 2561 2308 1376 1293 417 832 1438 12436
Change -62 -59 4 -101 -24 32 14 -76 167 -105
% Change -4,0% -7,4% 0,2% -4,2% -1,7% 2,5% 3,5% -8,4% 13,1% -0,8%
The table above depicts the number and percentage changes in the number of
road fatalities between the years 2021 and 2022. In 2022 10 466 fatal crashes
resulted in 12 436 fatalities. Road fatalities decreased by 0,8% from year 2021
to 2022.

Figure 10: Annual Percentage change in fatalities per province from 2021 to 2022
Figure 11: Estimated road traffic death rate (per 100 000 population)

According to WHO:
• Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for children and young
adults aged 5-29 years.
• Approximately 1.3 million people die each year as a result of road traffic
crashes.
• More than half of all road traffic deaths are among vulnerable road users:
pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists.
• 93% of the world's fatalities on the roads occur in low- and middle-income
countries, even though these countries have approximately 60% of the
world's vehicles.
• Road traffic crashes cost most countries 3% of their gross domestic

product.
• From the figure above the fatality rate per 100 000 of human population
or the Death Rate for Africa is 27.21 and 17 for 20.85
Ratio of fatalities per 100 000 people reduced from 20.7 in 2021 to 20.5 in 2022
which is a .2 decrease. Meaning that although the population grew the fatality
rate per 100 000 people decreased. Ratio of fatalities per 10 000 registered
motorised vehicles reduced from 10.7 (2021) to 10.6 (2022) which is a decline
of 0.1 meaning that although the number of registered vehicles increased the
fatality 10 000 registered motorised vehicles decreased.
The figure below depicts the distribution of fatalities per road user type. The
percentage of passenger fatalities remained similar at 28%.
The driver fatalities decreased from 28,9% in 2021 to 26,8% in 2022.

Pedestrians’ fatalities increased from 41,5% to 43% and cyclist fatalities
remained at 1,4%.
Figure 12: Percentage distribution of fatalities per road user type
The figure below shows the percentage of fatal crashes per day for each year.
From year to year it can be seen that fatal crashes start peaking from Fridays
(14,5%), Saturdays at 24,1%) until Sunday at 22,1%. On average fatal crashes
over the weekend contribute 60% of all crashes. The remaining 40% is
distributed throughout the other four days of the week (i.e. Monday to
Thursday).

Figure 13: Fatal crashes per day of the week
From figure 11 below the trend remains same year on year with the largest
proportion of fatalities within the age group 25 to 39 totalling 41,4% of all
fatalities. The percentage fatalities for children up to an age of 14 is 10,2% year
on year.

Figure 14: Percentage distribution of fatalities per age group for 2021 - 2022
No significant changes were observed in the gender split for fatalities; three
quarters of road fatalities are males. Driver’s license card holders registered on
the NaTIS System constitutes a 61,1/38,9 per cent male/female split; it could
thus be argued that more males are killed as drivers in context of licenced
drivers.

Figure 15: Percentage distribution of fatalities per gender for 2021 - 2022
From the figure below the distribution of fatalities per population group indicates on
average 80% of all road fatalities are black persons with the rest taking up the
remaining 20%.

90,0%
80,0%
70,0%
60,0%
50,0%
40,0%
30,0%
20,0%
10,0%
0,0%
Asian Black Coloured Foreigner Other White
2021 1,4% 80,8% 5,9% 2,0% 3,9% 6,1%
2022 1,3% 79,5% 6,8% 2,1% 4,5% 5,8%
Figure 16: Percentage distribution of fatalities per population group
From the figure below 87% of pedestrians killed on the road are black, 84% of
passengers are black, 69% of drivers are black and 62% of cyclists are also
black.

Figure 17: Percentage distribution of fatalities per population group per road user
The trend throughout the years is that human factors are a major contribution
to road fatalities. As shown on the figure below human factors are constantly in
the 85% region.

84,9% 87,3%
90,0%
80,0%
70,0%
60,0%
50,0%
40,0%
30,0%
9,8% 8,5%
20,0% 5,3% 4,2%
10,0%
0,0%
Human Factors Road and Environmental Vehicle Factors
Factors
2021 2022
Figure 18: Percentage distribution of fatalities per major contributory factors
The Figure below illustrate a breakdown of the top 15 contributory factors which
constitutes 96% of all the 41 types of contributory factors reported.
The largest contributor to any type of fatal crash in 2022 is Accident with
pedestrian at 25,2% from 25,6% in 2021. This is followed by single vehicle
overturned at 18,5% in 2022, and 19,8% in 2021.

Figure 19: Percentage distribution of fatalities per contributory factor
From the figure above, the top six contributory factors are reported as being
human factors with the highest in 2022 Road Environmental factor being road
surface being slippery or wet at 2.5% The highest Vehicle Factor i.e., Tyres burst
prior to crash at 2.4% in 2022.

8 PEDESTRIAN SAFETY
8.1 PEDESTRIAN FATALITIES
Pedestrian safety remains the most significant road safety challenge in South
Africa with an average of 40% of all fatalities being pedestrians.
Table 6: Pedestrian fatalities
YEAR Pedestrian Fatalities Percentage

2020 3875 46%
2021 5210 42%
2022 5352 43%
Table 7: Pedestrian fatal crashes per province

Figure 20: % Pedestrian fatal crashes of all fatal crashes per province
From the figure above, most pedestrian fatalities in the respective province,
were reported in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape. The three
provinces are consistently above the national percentage throughout the three
years. On average for the three years 47% of fatal crashes involve pedestrians.
The table below shows pedestrian deaths per province during the period
analysed. In line with the recorded fatal pedestrian crashes above, KwaZulu-
Natal, Western Cape and Gauteng provinces have the highest pedestrian deaths
with more than 50% recorded in the three provinces. The province with the
lowest number of pedestrian fatalities is Northern Cape, however the province
with the lowest percentage of pedestrian fatalities (that is in relation to the total
fatalities for that province) is Free State.
Table 8: Pedestrian fatalities per province
YEAR EC FS GP KZN LP MP NC NW WC RSA

2020 479 163 847 989 336 301 87 231 442 3875
2021 644 208 1259 1308 402 341 127 269 652 5210
2022 625 214 1372 1191 435 390 155 283 687 5352

Figure 21: % Pedestrian fatalities of all fatalities per province
From the figure above, KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape and Gauteng are the main
contributors to pedestrian fatalities. The three provinces exceed the national
average year on year.
From the figure below it can be observed that similar to the country profile on
age of pedestrian road crash fatalities, most pedestrians killed on pedestrian
road crashes are between the ages of 25 and 39; 41,4% of all pedestrian
fatalities are in this age bracket. An average of 10,2% of pedestrian fatalities
are of the 0 to 14 age bracket.

Figure 22: Pedestrian fatalities per age group
Figure 23: Pedestrian fatalities (age 0 – 14 years)
Based on the figure above the highest percentages of pedestrian fatalities for
pedestrians from ages between 0 and 14 occurred in May 2022 (30%) followed by
August (29%) and July 2022 (28%). The highest pedestrian fatalities percentage for
age group 0-4 years is 12% in December 2022. The highest pedestrian fatalities

percentage for age group 5-9 is 12% in May 2022. The highest pedestrian fatalities
percentage for age group 10-14 is 11.
From the figure below 60% of age group 10-14 are involved in fatal crashes as
pedestrians between the hours 12:00 and 19:00; during the same period 63% and 58%
of age groups 5-9 and 0-4 respectively are also involved in fatal crashes as pedestrians.
Figure 24: Crashes distribution per time of day for Pedestrian (age 0 – 14 years)

Figure 25: Fatalities distribution per time of day for Pedestrian (age 0 – 14 years)
The above figure and the table below show percentage fatalities of ages 0 to 14
years distribution per time of day. The patterns are the same for different age
groups. These patterns match the fatal crashes with pedestrians between the
ages of 0 to 14 years per time of day.

Table 9: Pedestrian fatalities per time of day (age 0-14 years)
AGE
Time 0 -4 5-9 10 - 14
00:00-01:00 0% 0% 0%
01:00-02:00 0% 0% 2%
02:00-03:00 1% 0% 0%
03:00-04:00 0% 0% 2%
04:00-05:00 0% 0% 0%
05:00-06:00 1% 0% 0%
06:00-07:00 1% 1% 4%
07:00-08:00 4% 6% 8%
08:00-09:00 2% 2% 4%
09:00-10:00 4% 2% 2%
10:00-11:00 8% 3% 5%
11:00-12:00 6% 8% 8%
12:00-13:00 8% 7% 4%
13:00-14:00 5% 10% 7%
14:00-15:00 7% 9% 12%
15:00-16:00 7% 14% 9%
16:00-17:00 13% 12% 9%
17:00-18:00 8% 14% 12%
18:00-19:00 13% 11% 9%
19:00-20:00 6% 1% 3%
20:00-21:00 2% 1% 1%
21:00-22:00 0% 1% 1%
22:00-23:00 2% 0% 1%
23:00-00:00 2% 0% 0%

AGE
Time 00 - 04 05 - 09 10 - 14
00:00 - 01:00 0,6% 0,0% 0,8%
01:00 - 02:00 0,6% 0,6% 0,8%
02:00 - 03:00 0,6% 0,6% 0,8%
03:00 - 04:00 0,6% 0,0% 0,8%
04:00 - 05:00 0,0% 0,0% 0,0%
05:00 - 06:00 0,6% 1,2% 1,5%
06:00 - 07:00 0,6% 2,3% 6,1%
07:00 - 08:00 5,6% 6,4% 9,2%
08:00 - 09:00 2,8% 2,3% 1,5%
09:00 - 10:00 6,1% 3,5% 1,5%
10:00 - 11:00 6,1% 2,9% 1,5%
11:00 - 12:00 3,3% 4,0% 3,1%
12:00 - 13:00 6,1% 3,5% 4,6%
13:00 - 14:00 4,4% 4,6% 3,8%
14:00 - 15:00 6,7% 13,9% 16,0%
15:00 - 16:00 9,4% 12,7% 12,2%
16:00 - 17:00 9,4% 13,3% 11,5%
17:00 - 18:00 8,3% 11,0% 8,4%
18:00 - 19:00 13,3% 5,8% 3,8%
19:00 - 20:00 7,8% 6,9% 3,1%
20:00 - 21:00 1,1% 2,3% 3,8%
21:00 - 22:00 2,8% 0,6% 2,3%
22:00 - 23:00 2,2% 1,7% 2,3%
23:00 - 00:00 1,1% 0,0% 0,8%
Figure 26: Average number of fatalities per 100 000 population (age 0 – 14 years)

The above figure shows that out of every 100 000 children in the age group 0-4
0.30 are highly likely to die as pedestrians and in age group 5-9 0.29 and in the
age group 10-14 0.22.
The figure below illustrates the percentage of pedestrian deaths per day of the
week. Most pedestrian fatalities occur over the weekend days (Friday, Saturday
and Sunday). The three days average 60% of total pedestrian deaths in a week,
with Saturday being the main contributing day at an average of 24%.
Figure 27: Pedestrian fatalities per day of the week
The table below shows analysis of the time and day of pedestrian fatal crashes. are
depicted in the table below. The top 10% time-bins in which pedestrian fatal crashes
occur per day of week are indicated in red.

As can be seen the top 10% are within the same time slot, which is 17:00 to 22:00
Friday to Sunday.

Table 10: Percentage of fatal pedestrian crashes per day of the week and time bin
Time/Day Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday

Thursday Friday Saturday
00:00 - 01:00 1,5% 0,5% 0,2% 0,2% 0,3% 0,2% 0,9%
01:00 - 02:00 1,3% 0,3% 0,1% 0,2% 0,2% 0,1% 0,6%
02:00 - 03:00 1,2% 0,2% 0,2% 0,1% 0,1% 0,1% 0,6%
03:00 - 04:00 0,9% 0,3% 0,1% 0,1% 0,1% 0,1% 0,6%
04:00 - 05:00 0,8% 0,5% 0,1% 0,1% 0,2% 0,3% 0,6%
05:00 - 06:00 0,5% 0,6% 0,4% 0,4% 0,3% 0,3% 0,6%
06:00 - 07:00 0,7% 0,6% 0,6% 0,5% 0,5% 0,6% 0,5%
07:00 - 08:00 0,7% 0,6% 0,6% 0,4% 0,5% 0,6% 0,4%
08:00 - 09:00 0,3% 0,4% 0,3% 0,3% 0,3% 0,4% 0,6%
09:00 - 10:00 0,3% 0,3% 0,2% 0,3% 0,3% 0,3% 0,3%
10:00 - 11:00 0,4% 0,3% 0,5% 0,3% 0,4% 0,4% 0,4%
11:00 - 12:00 0,5% 0,3% 0,2% 0,3% 0,4% 0,4% 0,3%
12:00 - 13:00 0,4% 0,3% 0,2% 0,3% 0,2% 0,5% 0,7%
13:00 - 14:00 0,4% 0,4% 0,4% 0,4% 0,4% 0,6% 0,5%
14:00 - 15:00 0,6% 0,3% 0,6% 0,4% 0,5% 0,5% 0,5%
15:00 - 16:00 0,7% 0,8% 0,5% 0,4% 0,5% 0,8% 0,8%
16:00 - 17:00 0,9% 0,7% 0,6% 0,5% 0,5% 0,6% 0,9%
17:00 - 18:00 1,0% 0,6% 0,7% 0,6% 0,7% 0,9% 1,2%
18:00 - 19:00 2,0% 1,2% 1,1% 0,8% 1,3% 1,7% 2,7%
19:00 - 20:00 2,1% 1,0% 0,5% 0,9% 0,8% 1,8% 3,0%
20:00 - 21:00 1,5% 0,8% 0,3% 0,6% 0,6% 1,3% 2,5%
21:00 - 22:00 1,0% 0,6% 0,5% 0,3% 0,5% 0,8% 1,8%
22:00 - 23:00 0,8% 0,3% 0,2% 0,5% 0,3% 0,9% 1,4%
23:00 - 24:00 0,5% 0,2% 0,2% 0,2% 0,2% 0,5% 1,3%
% Total 21,2% 12,1% 9,4% 8,9% 10,0% 14,9% 23,5%

9 COST OF CRASHES
The high number of road traffic crashes and their associated consequences has
a significant impact on South African society, which in turn continues to hamper
socio-economic development and affects the well-being of all South Africans.
This impact is measured in terms of human lives lost, “pain, grief and suffering”,
as well as an increasing cost to the economy.
A study to determine the Cost of Crashes for South Africa for 2015 was published
in September 2016. Calculating the cost of crashes included human casualty
costs, vehicle repair costs and incident costs which was and estimated
R142.6 billion for 2015. The RTMC calculate/adjust the cost of crashes on annual
basis with respective annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the number of fatal
crashes and fatalities per year.
The estimated adjusted cost of crashes for 2022 is R198.79 billion (Estimated
3.29% of the GDP for 2022) as indicated in the table below.
Figure 28: Estimated Cost of Crashes

10 Road Safety Research and Engineering
10.1 ROAD SAFETY RESEARCH
The RTMC did not publish research in the 2022 calendar year. A research Report
on the analysis of ‘Heavy vehicles and Buses involved in Fatal Crashes’ will be
published in March 2023.
10.2 ROAD SAFETY ENGINEERING
In line with the Safe System approach, providing safe road infrastructure is
essential to, in an event of a crash, provide forgiving roads to reduce serious
injury and fatalities. The RTMC, through the National Road Traffic Engineering
Technical Committee (NRTETC) which, resorts under the National Road Safety
Steering Committee (NRSSC) coordinate road traffic and safety engineering in
South Africa.
Various subcommittees and working groups resort under the NRTETC which,
meets on a quarterly basis and reports to the NRSSC. The NRTETC membership
include road traffic engineering officials from the Department of Transport (DoT),
the South African National Road Agency, the South African Local Government
Association (SALGA), the 9 provincial road authorities and the 8 Metropolitan
Municipalities.
The structuring of the NRTETC (Chairmanship of the RTMC) include the following
Fora:
Subcommittees (Chairmanship):
 Road Safety Engineering and Road Signs Subcommittee (DoT)
 Loads Subcommittee (Abnormal Loads Chaired by DoT and Overloading

which resorts under the Law Enforcement Technical Committee Chaired by
the RTMS)
Working Groups (Chairmanship):

 Road Safety Audits Subcommittee (RTMC)
 Tourism Signage Working Group (DoT)
 Speed Limits Working Group (RTMC)
 Outdoor Advertising Working Group (RTMC)
 Traffic Calming Working Group (RTMC)
 Innovative Road Safety Engineering Solutions Working Group (RTMC)
In addition to coordinating road traffic and safety engineering amongst the three
spheres of government, the NRTETC and its Fora identify the need for
engineering related research and updating of road safety related standards and
guidelines.

11 POST-CRASH
Table 11: Registered emergency vehicles
There are 30 341 registered emergency type vehicles categorised as emergency

vehicles in South Africa with the highest number, 11 756 or 38.7% registered in the
Gauteng province and the lowest number, 618 or 2.0% registered in the Northern Cape
province. 13 187 or 43.5% are breakdown vehicles with the number ambulances 8 864
or 29.2% of registered emergency type vehicles. Excluding registered breakdown
vehicles from emergency type vehicles means that leaves a mere 17 154 emergency
type vehicles to cater for the needs of all people living in South Africa.
NaTIS - Registered Self-Propelled Emergency Type Vehicles (December 2022)

Province Ambulance Breakdown Fire engine Hearse Rescue vehicle Total % of Total
GP 3 468 5 228 606 1 379 1 075 11 756 38,7%
KZN 1 397 2 784 1 094 189 130 5 594 18,4%
WC 785 1 116 585 294 263 3 043 10,0%
EC 992 842 230 165 244 2 473 8,2%
MP 445 1 125 643 75 126 2 414 8,0%
LIM 421 801 161 141 85 1 609 5,3%
NW 570 642 158 117 81 1 568 5,2%
FS 516 473 115 92 70 1 266 4,2%
NC 270 176 68 72 32 618 2,0%
Total 8 864 13 187 3 660 2 524 2 106 30 341 100,0%
% of Total 29,2% 43,5% 12,1% 8,3% 6,9% 100,0%
Considering the number of emergency type vehicles in South Africa relevant to human
population and the total number of registered self-propelled vehicles in the country
provides an indication of the availability of emergency type vehicles to cater for the
needs of the people of South Africa.
Towards establishing the estimated availability of emergency type vehicles, the

following table provides the total number of self-propelled vehicles (NaTIS Self -
propelled vehicles, December 2022) and the mid-year population (STATSSA, Mid-year
Population, July 2022).

Total Self-propelled Vehicle Mid-year Human Popula-
Province % of Total % of Total
Population (NaTIS) tion (STATSSA)
GP 4 528 036 38,6% 16 098 571 26,6%
KZN 1 621 355 13,8% 11 538 325 19,0%
WP 1 897 014 16,2% 7 212 142 11,9%
EC 781 888 6,7% 6 676 691 11,0%
MP 802 540 6,8% 4 720 497 7,8%
LIM 709 789 6,1% 5 941 439 9,8%
NW 583 610 5,0% 4 186 984 6,9%
FS 549 575 4,7% 2 921 611 4,8%
NC 252 464 2,2% 1 308 734 2,2%
Total 11 726 271 100,0% 60 604 994 100,0%
The table below is an indication of the spread / availability of the different emergency
type vehicles per relevant indicator per province, and per type of emergency vehicle.
1 Ambulance 1 Fire Engine 1 Hearse 1 Rescue Vehicle 1 Breakdown

Province per per per per per
'x’ persons 'x’ persons ‘x’ persons ‘x’ persons 'x’ vehicles
GP 4 642 26 565 11 674 14 975 866
KZN 8 259 10 547 61 049 88 756 582
WP 9 187 12 328 24 531 27 423 1 700
EC 6 731 29 029 40 465 27 363 929
MP 10 608 7 341 62 940 37 464 713
LIM 14 113 36 903 42 138 69 899 886
NW 7 346 26 500 35 786 51 691 909
FS 5 662 25 405 31 757 41 737 1 162
NC 4 847 19 246 18 177 40 898 1 434
Total 6 837 16 559 24 011 28 777 889
There are 8 864 registered ambulances to cater for the needs of all persons living in
South Africa, or 1 ambulance for every 6 837 persons. There are 1 fire engine for every
16 559 persons and 1 rescue vehicle for every 1 997 persons.
Relevant to the vehicle population of South Africa, there are 1 breakdown type vehicle
for every 889 registered vehicles which constitutes 43.5% of all emergency type vehicle.

Reviewed and Supported by:
……………………… ………………………..
Mr Thabiso Ndebele Date
Executive Manager: RSM & S
……………………… ………………………..
Mr Stephen Podile Date
Executive Manager: LE
……………………… ………………………..
Mr Kevin Kara-Vala Date
Executive Manager: RTI & T

Recommended by:
……………………… …………………………
Adv. Makhosini Msibi Date
CEO
Approved by:
…………………………….. …………………………
Ms. Nomusa Mufamadi Date
Chairperson of the Board

Road Traffic Management Corporation
Eco Origin Office Park, Block F
349 Witch-Hazel Street
Highveld Ext 79
Tell: 012 999 5200
www.rtmc.co.za

RTMC 2022-State of Road Safety Reporta

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

RTMC 2022-State of Road Safety Reporta

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

RTMC 2022-State of Road Safety Reporta

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

State of Road Safety in South Africa

‘January 2022 to December 2022’

1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................................. 7

2.1 NRSS Target .......................................................................................... 8

5.1 Speed Operations ................................................................................. 22

6.1 Pillar 1: Road Safety Management ........................................................... 28

State of road safety report: 1 Jan 2022 – 31 December 2022 0

7.1 FATAL CRASHES AND FATALITIES ........................................................... 33

8.1 Pedestrian fatalities ............................................................................... 45

10 ROAD SAFETY RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING ..................................... 57

10.1 ROAD SAFETY RESEARCH .................................................................... 57

State of road safety report: 1 Jan 2022 – 31 December 2022 1

Table 2: Number of registered vehicles per type................................................. 17

Table 3: Summary of NRSS implementation status ............................................. 32

Table 4: Fatal crashes per province .................................................................. 33

Table 5: Fatalities per province ....................................................................... 34

Table 6: Pedestrian fatalities ........................................................................... 45

Table 7: Pedestrian fatal crashes per province ................................................... 45

Table 8: Pedestrian fatalities per province ......................................................... 46

Table 11: Registered emergency vehicles .......................................................... 59

State of road safety report: 1 Jan 2022 – 31 December 2022 2

Figure 1: Progression towards NRSS Target ......................................................... 9

Figure 2: South African population per province ................................................. 13

Figure 3: South African climate ....................................................................... 14

Figure 4: Percentage vehicles per road authority ................................................ 16

Figure 5: Percentage vehicles registered per province on 31 December 2022. ......... 18

Figure 6: Entities of the Department of Transport ............................................... 19

Figure 7: Speed arrests .................................................................................. 23

Figure 8: Drunken driving arrests .................................................................... 25

Figure 13: Fatal crashes per day of the week ..................................................... 38

Figure 16: Percentage distribution of fatalities per population group ...................... 41

Figure 19: Percentage distribution of fatalities per contributory factor .................... 44

Figure 21: % Pedestrian fatalities of all fatalities per province .............................. 47

Figure 22: Pedestrian fatalities per age group .................................................... 48

Figure 23: Pedestrian fatalities (age 0 – 14 years) .............................................. 48

State of road safety report: 1 Jan 2022 – 31 December 2022 3

Figure 27: Pedestrian fatalities per day of the week ............................................ 53

Figure 28: Estimated Cost of Crashes ............................................................... 56

State of road safety report: 1 Jan 2022 – 31 December 2022 4

NCDMS National Crash Data Management System

NRSS National Road Safety Strategy (2016-2030)

SAMRC South African Medical Research Council

SANRAL South African National Roads Agency

State of road safety report: 1 Jan 2022 – 31 December 2022 5

State of road safety report: 1 Jan 2022 – 31 December 2022 6

The implementation of the National Road Safety Strategy remains a priority in

Fatal crashes decreased by 1,5% (from 10 607 in 2021 to 10 446 in 2022).

Fatalities decrease by 0,8% (from 12 541 in 2021 to 12 436 in 2022).

Forty-three percentage (43%) of road user fatalities are pedestrians. Male

State of road safety report: 1 Jan 2022 – 31 December 2022 7

2.1 NRSS TARGET

State of road safety report: 1 Jan 2022 – 31 December 2022 8

2.2 METHODOLOGIES AND DATA LIMITATION

2.2.1 Road crash data collection methodology

The Culpable Homicide Crash Observation Report (CHoCOR) form is utilised to

State of road safety report: 1 Jan 2022 – 31 December 2022 9

2.2.2 Crash Data Flow

2.2.3 Data processing