By Hajira Khota

During the festive season, South African roadways are notably dangerous. While bad weather and careless driving were factors in some of the tragic crashes during the holidays, experts think it may be time to install barriers on some of the country’s major highways.

The national traffic department has also issued warnings for a number of locations that have historically been high accident hotspots over the holiday season.

Bioethicist Dr Lee Randall spoke to Radio Islam International; she says that a lot of roads in SA did not have barriers and these undivided highways were the most dangerous road designs in the world. She said ideally there should be an island between traffic in one direction and traffic in the other.

The national traffic department has also issued warnings for a number of locations that have historically been high accident hotspots over the holiday season.

The Road Accident Fund recently reminded South Africans of the country’s most dangerous roads, with routes in the Eastern Cape and Limpopo ranking first and second, respectively. The N2 motorway between East London and Umtata, as well as Umtata and Kokstad, was rated as the worst. In Limpopo, the N1 from Mokopane to Polokwane and Polokwane to Makhado was next.

Randall says that pedestrians are the most vulnerable road user category in South Africa. Pedestrians account for 41% of fatalities on highways.

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