Minister Barbara Creecy: Road Safety Practitioners' Colloquium
Birchwood Hotel, Ekurhuleni
Programme Director,
Executive Mayor of the City of Ekurhuleni, Mr Nkosindiphile Xhakaza
MEC for Roads and Transport in Gauteng, Ms Kedibone Diale-Tlabela
Representatives of provincial and local government,
CEOs and officials from our transport entities,
Representatives of academia, civil society and the private sector,
Road safety practitioners from across the country,
Ladies and gentlemen.
I am honoured to address the inaugural Road Safety Practitioners' Colloquium under the important theme:"Strengthening Road Safety through Collaboration, Innovation and Accountability."
Today I will outline the ways in which the Department and its entities are working together to improve road safety in our country , where we have been successful, and where challenges remain.
We cannot normalise our current situation of recording close to 12 000 deaths on South Africa’s roads annually. This why we have set ourselves the target of halving our number of annual road fatalities by 2030, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
We have recorded significant milestones over the past two years. over six percent less annual crashes and fatalities were recorded in 2025 compared to 2024.
Data from the 2025-2026 Festive Season Road Safety Campaign indicated a five percent reduction in both road fatalities and crashes, and five provinces recorded a reduction in the number of fatalities when compared to the same period in the previous year.
During the 2026 Easter long weekend the Road Traffic Management Corporation recorded the second-lowest crashes & fatalities over the past 4-year Easter periods. When Compared to the peak in 2024, crashes declined by 24% and fatalities by 39%.
While these statistics are commendable, the numbers remain too high, and every life lost represents the loss of a loved one, a parent and a breadwinner. We therefore need to ramp up and intensify our existing efforts to continue seeing a reduction in these figures
Ladies and gentlemen
Road safety is a problem that requires the collaboration of all spheres of government.
The reduction in fatalities and crashes mentioned above was achieved through a coordinated campaign of collaboration between the Department, the RTMC and provincial and municipal traffic authorities.
The Deputy Minister and I have been hosting weekly meetings with the nine Transport MECs and their officials to receive regular updates on the emerging trends being witnessed with regards to traffic monitoring and policing. This has ensured that our focussed road safety campaigns do not only occur during periods experiencing high traffic volumes such as Easter and the end of year festive season, and that we are able to regularly observe countrywide traffic trends and law enforcement performance throughout the traffic ecosystem.
The data gathered by the RTMC and provinces has given us the following snapshot of road accidents for the first eight months of 2026:
- 6457 people have died on our roads from 1 January to 23 August – this represents a 9% overall fatality reduction compared to 2025
- Pedestrians account for 48 percent of all fatalities
- Over a third of all fatalities occurred in the Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces.
- The Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and North West met and exceeded the 10% target for the decrease in fatalities in their respective provinces
These trends from the weekly briefings have informed the deployment of Metro Police and the National Traffic police throughout the country so that authorities are adequately resourced for periods with regular traffic volumes, and during events such as sports matches, long weekends, religious pilgrimages and month-end.
Ladies and gentlemen
The progress that we have witnessed in terms of reduced fatalities and crashes through the country is not accidental; it is the direct result of coordinated law enforcement, strategic partnerships with civil society, and a shift in the collective consciousness of our road users. However, we cannot rest on these laurels.
To address the high number of pedestrian deaths, this year we have had a targeted focus on preventing people from crossing and walking on highways. Traffic policing authorities have also intensified patrols of areas of entertainment near highways to prevent inebriated pedestrians from running across major roads and encouraging them to use designated road crossings.
Key to the success of these measures is visibility and public education. Our visibility in and around pedestrian accident-prone areas assisted by the communities and support from the SAPS will ensure that we keep the momentum of reducing road accidents and set us on our trajectory of achieving the road safety decade action target set for our country.
A whole-of-society approach has been essential in spreading the road safety message through public communication campaigns. We have been able to record successes and lower accident rates through mobilising communities through engagements with civil society, traditional leaders, and faith-based organisations. Such collaboration between the RTMC and provinces has led to over 14 000 road safety education and awareness interventions being conducted this year.
The Department and the RTMC have also conducted a coordinated media campaign throughout the year with over 50 media outlets, focussing on weather advisories, traffic advisories, and roadworthiness and vehicle compliance inspections.
None of these interventions will however be sustainable or successful without adequate human resources to enforce the law and traffic regulations. We cannot conduct roadblocks and other operations without recruiting additional traffic officials and being able to deploy them when and where they are most needed.
Being cognisant of the fact that most crashes occur late at night or during the early hours of the morning, we will continue to advance our efforts to regularise 24/7 traffic policing using a flexi-shift system. Visible policing remains one of the greatest deterrents against reckless and negligent driving.
Ladies and gentlemen
Whilst I have listed the interventions we are making on the ground, we are also using legislative measures to improve road safety.
Between March and the end of August this year alone over 18 000 people were arrested for drunken driving, accounting for a third of all traffic arrests during the period.
We are currently pursuing legislative amendments to Section 65 of the National Road Traffic Act to further tighten restrictions on driving under the influence, with the aim of moving towards a strict zero percent blood alcohol policy. We are in the process of acquiring approval from the Chief State Law Advisor and SEIAS approval to secure cabinet concurrence for this amendment by the end of 2026.
Phase two of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) was officially launched on 1 July this year and is operational in 62 municipalities. Phase three will see national implementation in the 151 outstanding municipalities in 2027, which will be followed by phase four, the implementation of the demerit system.
AARTO encourages voluntary compliance with traffic laws through offering a discount on infringement notices if they are paid early, alleviating the burden on courts. The new system will also provide greater deterrence to habitual reckless driver through the possibility of a suspended license.
The RTMC and provincial authorities have also been tasked with enforcement of the National Land Transport Amendment Act as it relates to scholar transport. What this entails is that scholar transport operators must be registered, have Professional Driving Permits, proof of annual roadworthiness checks for their vehicles, and enrolment in an advanced driving course. These additional requirements for operators have all been informed by the need for enhanced passenger safety measures
As I conclude, allow me to thank the Department of Transport and all partners involved in organising this important colloquium.
Over the next three days, I encourage all delegates to engage openly and constructively, share lessons honestly, challenge assumptions respectfully, identify innovative solutions boldly and most importantly, develop practical actions that can be implemented within your institutions and communities.
One death on our roads is one too many. May this colloquium strengthen our shared resolve to make South Africa's roads safer for all.
I thank you
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