Cape Town - The Western Cape transport department claims its stats points to men being culpable for the vast majority of deaths and injuries on SA roads.
The department is asking "men to man up and slow down", through this latest road safety campaign - #ManUpSlowDown.
Western Cape MEC of Transport and Public Works, Donald Grant, says: "All of our data points to men being culpable for the vast majority of deaths and injuries on our roads, which illustrates why we are asking men specifically to man up and slow down, through this latest advertisement."
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Grant adds: "While women are less likely to be behind the wheel during a fatal crash, statistics also show that a much higher proportion of women are killed as passengers. Of 1597 passengers killed from 2012 – 2016, 41.3% were female (661) and 58.3% were male (932)."
"There are many forms of abuse, aggressive driving is one of them," says the Western Cape transport department in its latest hard-hitting ad focusing on reckless driving.
The video shows an injured, female passenger speaking about her partner's reckless driving, emulating the terrible abuse suffered by many women in South Africa.
The ad, as part of the department's SafelyHome campaign, is in support of 16 Days of Activism to end violence against women and Children.
#ManUpSlowDown - What do you think of the latest hard-hitting ad? Email us
Grant said: "In the last five years, 2012 – 2016, 6 581 people have been killed on Western Cape roads. This includes 1 361 drivers killed. Of all drivers killed, 88.4% were males (1 204), and 11.4% were females (156). This represents 7 male drivers killed for every 1 female driver. This information tells us that in fatal crashes, it is more likely to be a man behind the wheel than a woman."
Grant says during the same period (2012 – 2016) 689 children aged 0 – 14 years were also killed on Western Cape roads.
"Male drivers are also known to have a risk profile that is at least double that of women, due to their higher probability of behaving recklessly on the road. This is also why men have higher insurance premiums than women," says Grant.
READ: Hard-hitting SA ad says aggressive driving is 'a form of abuse'