As the holidays end and people return to work, road blocks have been set up on the province’s major routes, with no major incidents reported yet.
The RTMC’s Makhosini Msibi said that this festive season had so far seen more deaths of people in private vehicles than any other mode of transport.
The minister and officials from the Road Traffic Management Corporation addressed the media on the festive season road safety.
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula released the 2019/20 festive season road safety report on Thursday.
The majority of those killed over the period were pedestrians.
Mid-term statistics show that 589 people have been killed and over 1,300 arrested for drunk driving since the start of the festive season.
Almost 600 people have lost their lives already since the start of the festive season - last year that number stood at 839 on 23 December.
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula said that authorities had recorded 489 fatal crashes since the start of the holiday period and this resulted in 589 fatalities.
Last year, 149 people were killed on the roads in the Western Cape over the holiday period.
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula joined the Johannesburg Metro Police Department on Monday as it launched its festive season safety campaign.
Economic cluster ministers, like Public Works Minister Patricia de Lille, can expect a number of questions from members of the NCOP, from whether any land will be expropriated in terms of the proposed Expropriation Bill, to whether Section 25 of the Constitution will be amended.
MEC Donald Grant believes more focus should be placed on getting people who travel long distances over the festive season out of minibus taxis and onto long-distance trains.
According to the City of Johannesburg, the number of accidents also went down by 28% compared to the 2017 festive season.
A truck and a minibus crashed on the R612 between Ixopo and Highflats.
Minister Blade Nzimande released the preliminary figures in Pretoria on Wednesday, with figures showing an increase in fatalities from this holiday season, compared to the same time last year.
Minister Blade Nzimande released the preliminary figures in Pretoria on Wednesday, with figures showing an increase in fatalities from this holiday season, compared to the same time last year.
Transport Minister Blade Nzimande briefed the media on the festive season road safety report, which covers the period from 1 December 2018 to 8 January 2019.
More than 1,000 motorists were arrested during this period in Gauteng alone for driving under the influence of alcohol.
