The grim festive season road fatality statistics is "a sad indictment of the total disregard road users have for their own and other peoples’ lives on our country’s roads," says the Automobile Association.
Preliminary statistics of the festive season road deaths released by Transport Minister Blade Nzimande show that 1612 people were killed on South African roads from December 1 2018 to January 8 2019.
Speeding, reckless driving... we ask readers which poor road behaviour they wished to curb on South Africa's roads. Our poll garnered more than 10 000 votes. The majority of readers believed reckless driving, not speeding, to be the most dangerous behaviour on our roads, followed by using a cellphone while driving. The full results of our poll can be viewed at the end of this article.
Arrive Alive's Johan Jonck said: "Very interesting outcome - it may show that many road users believe that there is an over-emphasis on curbing speedsters, especially when it comes to the belief that law enforcement is more concerned with speed 'entrapment' and generating revenue.
"The pollsters rightly identify reckless drivers as their biggest concern - those who disregard the rules of the road with dangerous and illegal overtaking, skipping traffic lights etc. Also a welcome sign that many road users realise the dangers of using a cellphone while driving. This is not only unsafe and illegal - but a source of great frustration and agitation to fellow road users."
Check out the results of our poll below: