THE MEC for Transport, Safety and Liaison, Weziwe Tikana, will tomorrow join hundreds of community members in a service to remember eight victims of a horror vehicle crash.
Eight people died following the crash on the N2 between Idutywa and Mthatha last Friday. Five died on the scene of accident and three later died in hospital.
In a statement today, the department indicated that law enforcement authorities reported that the incident occurred following a tyre burst as the light delivery vehicle (bakkie) was fleeing from a road block conducted just outside Idutywa. The driver, who also died in the accident, was allegedly not a licensed driver.
“Building on the previous and recent experiences, the Department will continue to improve its enforcement policies and strategies, and upscale public road safety education and awareness campaigns, which is a key component and driver of the road safety strategy.”
Among the crash victims were two women – one who left behind her husband with a premature baby, while the other left her husband with two children aged two and four months respectively.
“Road traffic injuries are a big problem in South Africa affecting all sectors of the society and they are a growing public health and social development problem. The burden also impacts heavily on our health system and social welfare where more and more people rely on our social security net for survival,” said Tikana.
According to information released by the Road Transport Management Corporation (RTMC) in April this year, human factor still remains a causal factor for most of the crashes experienced on the countries roads. The vehicle types that make a high contribution to fatal crashes were motorcars and Light Delivery Vehicles.
“The Eastern Cape is not immune to these challenges and the MEC calls on all road users to be responsible to make Eastern Cape roads safe.”
The service will be held at the Nonkqubela Community Hall at Mangathi Village, Idutywa, at 10am tomorrow.
