Newsletter 146 - Five provinces record higher road fatality than murder rates
Comparisons between murder and road fatality rates underscore the lack of road safety in the country. In 2010/11, five provinces recorded road fatality rates that were higher than murder rates. The rates for road accident deaths in Limpopo and Mpumalanga were more than
double the murder rates.
During the 2010/11 financial year the country’s murder rate was almost equal to the road fatality rate. According to the South African Police Service and the Road Traffic Management Corporation, the murder and road fatality rates were 32 and 28 per 100 000 people respectively.
In Limpopo and Mpumalanga, the road accident death rates for the year were more than double the murder rates. The three other provinces where road accident fatality rates were higher than murder rates were the Free State, North West, and the Northern Cape.
On the other hand, the rates for murder in both the Eastern Cape and Western Cape were almost double those for road fatalities.
Murder and road fatality rates per 100 000 people by province, 2010/11 | ||
Province | Murder | Road fatality |
Eastern Cape | 47 | 27 |
Free State | 34 | 38 |
Gauteng | 29 | 21 |
KwaZulu-Natal | 35 | 26 |
Limpopo | 12 | 28 |
Mpumalanga | 20 | 44 |
North West | 23 | 34 |
Northern Cape | 31 | 34 |
Western Cape | 44 | 24 |
South Africa | 32 | 28 |
Source: SAPS, www.saps.gov.za, accessed 8 September 2011 Road Traffic Management Corporation, Road traffic report 31 March 2011, August 2011
- Kerwin Lebone
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