Minister Chikunga: Mainly young black Africans dying on our roads

Minister Chikunga: Mainly young black Africans dying on our roads

The country’s young people are dying due to motorists driving drunk and pedestrians walking drunk, says Transport Minister Sindi Chikunga.

Chikunga spoke on Wednesday during the release of the 2023/24 festive season road traffic statistics at the N1 Grasmere toll plaza.

THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE WHO DIED ON OUR ROADS: YOUNG BLACK AFRICANS

“The majority of people dying on our roads are young black Africans who come from tertiary institutions; they are breadwinners, and they die,” Chikunga said.

“It’s because of this abuse of alcohol where the majority of South Africans are drunk. It’s like there’s competition; there’s no tomorrow.”

“It’s high time our churches, universities, and the media that we begin to talk about this. We cannot have a country where the majority of citizens are drunk Monday to Monday,” she said during an interview with eNCA.

YOUNG BLACK MEN AGES 25 TO 44 DYING ON THE ROADS SAYS CHIKUNGA

There were 1,184 fatal road crashes in the festive season of 2023/24 compared to 1,212 fatal crashes in 2022/23.

This represented a 2.3% decline in fatal road crashes.

However, Chikunga did not read much into this, saying that due to South Africa’s drinking culture, traffic officials were arresting people for drinking and driving at 7 am midweek in some instances.

She said mainly young black men between the ages of 25 and 44 were dying on the roads.

THE NUMBER OF WOMEN ARRESTED FOR DRUNK DRIVING HAS INCREASED

“The number of women arrested for drunk driving is also increasing. When I joined the department, it was 2%; now, maybe it is 30 to 40%,” Chikunga said.

The statistics showed that most crashes occurred between 1 and 5 December, 15 and 21 December, and 22 and 28 December.

She added that most crashes occurred between 19:00 and 22:00, peaking between 20:00 and 21:00.

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