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Transport minister in the Western Cape, Robin Carlisle has announced that "for the first time in more than five years the February Western Cape road death toll has dropped to below 100."
Carlisle said: "Road fatalities in February 2012 fell from 129 in 2011, to 99, a decrease of 23.2%.
"Overall the 12-month fatality figures have now fallen from 1772 from 1st of January 2009, to 1289 at the end of February 2012," he said.
Since taking office in 2009, Carlisle has set a goal of reducing road deaths by 50% in 2014. Using the January 2008 to January 2009 figure as his comparison, the minister has reached the "halfway" target, when comparing the result over the same period between 2011/2012.
DEATH TOLL 'FAR TOO HIGH'
Carlisle said: "This is a decrease of 25.9%, which means that the Safely Home campaign has now passed the halfway mark towards its target of halving the death rate by the end of 2014."
Despite the drop in road fatalities Carlisle says the figure is still too "high" and that efforts will have to continue in order to meet the Province's goal of 886 deaths annually.
Carlisle said: "As I have painfully learned over the last years, the trends can change in a single day. While 99 deaths is an improvement on the previous year, the numbers of people dying on our roads is still far too high.
"That being said, there has been a solid achievement by the Safely Home team over a long period, and they are all to be congratulated, as are the fine men and women in the traffic departments and in the police, who are out there saving lives 24/7," he said.
Carlisle said: "Road fatalities in February 2012 fell from 129 in 2011, to 99, a decrease of 23.2%.
"Overall the 12-month fatality figures have now fallen from 1772 from 1st of January 2009, to 1289 at the end of February 2012," he said.
Since taking office in 2009, Carlisle has set a goal of reducing road deaths by 50% in 2014. Using the January 2008 to January 2009 figure as his comparison, the minister has reached the "halfway" target, when comparing the result over the same period between 2011/2012.
DEATH TOLL 'FAR TOO HIGH'
Carlisle said: "This is a decrease of 25.9%, which means that the Safely Home campaign has now passed the halfway mark towards its target of halving the death rate by the end of 2014."
Despite the drop in road fatalities Carlisle says the figure is still too "high" and that efforts will have to continue in order to meet the Province's goal of 886 deaths annually.
Carlisle said: "As I have painfully learned over the last years, the trends can change in a single day. While 99 deaths is an improvement on the previous year, the numbers of people dying on our roads is still far too high.
"That being said, there has been a solid achievement by the Safely Home team over a long period, and they are all to be congratulated, as are the fine men and women in the traffic departments and in the police, who are out there saving lives 24/7," he said.
