 
MEDIA STATEMENT
KWAZULU-NATAL MEC FOR TRANSPORT, MR S'BU NDEBELE, IS ALARMED AND CONCERNED THAT COLLISION RATE REACHES CRITICAL LEVELKwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Mr S'bu Ndebele, is both alarmed and concerned by the past week's excessively high accident rate in the province, which left about 55 people dead, including a traffic officer in the execution of his duty, during the past five days alone.In yet another horror crash, 14 people were killed at approximately 05h30 this morning in a head on collision between a minibus taxi and a Volkswagen Jetta along the N2 between Kwadakuza and Zinkwazi on the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast. The driver and his two passengers from the Jetta were killed instantly. Their bodies were trapped in their vehicle and emergency services had to use the jaws of life to extricate them. The driver of the minibus taxi and eight of his passengers were killed instantly. Two passengers later died at hospital while two other passengers are still in a critical condition at the Kwadakuza Hospital while four other passengers escaped with minor injuries. The SAPS are investigating. MEC Ndebele said that it is cause for great concern that in less than one week, the road collision fatalities are so many, caused mainly through driver error. "The spate of collisions involving public transport vehicles is also reaching ridiculous proportions. It is puzzling why there is a sudden upsurge in the number of collisions involving buses and minibus taxis at a time when road safety has been made a national priority. In a period of five days, at least 46 people were killed in accidents involving public transport vehicles in the province and I will make sure that stern action is taken against guilty operators," Mr Ndebele said. "These crashes do not only cause loss of life but also result in major routes being closed to traffic for several hours. This places an enormous strain on our staff and resources and is a huge disruption to other motorists including holidaymakers. Our resources are currently deployed to monitor the Easter holiday season traffic. However, road accidents draw all emergency services away from the assigned duties for several hours. People who drive recklessly over this period don't seem to realise the consequences of their negligence and their disregard for road laws. They not only risk their own lives but also endanger the lives of other road users," Mr Ndebele said. "We therefore urge all road users to comply with the rules of the road. Breaking the traffic laws is not only dangerous; it is costing the country lives. The trauma that is brought about by these collisions is unbearable. Let every South African commit to promote road safety and save lives," MEC Ndebele said.
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