Attorney Michael de Broglio on: South Africa, Law, Politics, Attorneys, Sport, Photography, Technology, Gadgets, Media, Crime, Road Accidents Fund,
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This is my favourite time of the year to watch political spin-making, when we get the whole host of press releases during the festive season telling us about how the accident death toll is down on previous years. It is something I have been quoted about extensively in the media before, and I really hope it does not happen this year.
In short, what each successive Minister of Transport seems to do, is get the statistics from his of her staff as to how many people have died and compare it to the previous year. What they should compare it to is the press releases they issued the previous year, because those figures were lower than the comparative figure they now use. It might all sound confusing, but what happens, is that a lot of police stations report death tolls late, and a lot of people die in hospital 2 weeks, 3 weeks or 3 months after the date when their accident happened and they are not including in all of the provisional figures. The Ministers and their spokespersons are essentially then comparing apples and oranges, because each year they are comparing the latest provisional figure with the previous year’s final figure and the provisional figure is always likely to be substantially lower than the final figure because not everybody dies instantly at the scene of an accident.
What I would also prefer to see is if the media focuses the entire year on what is happening on our roads, instead of just in mid-December and in April. It is a tragedy that more than 15,000 people die on our roads each and every year, and the number, despite the press releases they put out every December, has not stopped growing. In fact, the death toll has doubled over the last 10 years.
Posted by Michael de Broglio on Tuesday 13-Dec-11
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Comments
Genevieve said:
on Thursday 15-Dec-11 12:35 PM
As the year comes to close, ladies (and gentlemen), travel safe, take it slow, be responsible and do not put yourself in a situation to form part of these statistics. May you all have a Merry Christmas and may 2012 only hold great things.
Angelique said:
on Tuesday 13-Dec-11 02:33 PM
These stats are just horrific. Its so sad this time of year, sometimes I'm even scared to go out in the evening because I just think of all the irresponsible people on the roads - some being even our friends. Drinking and driving usually kill the 'innocent' people. As for taxi drivers, don't even get me started with this one! Authorities need to be more strict with them honestly! Instead of laughing and joking on the side of the road with them!
safia said:
on Tuesday 13-Dec-11 01:30 PM
We lose so many people to taxi accidents . There has to be much stricter laws and bigger fines and points system to stop this chaos on roads . Taxi bosses should pay big taxes which would be spent to put more traffic police on roads and more speed cameras and checking conditions of taxi vehicles . Also i think it would be great to reduce the speed limit and put some devices in taxis to stop exceeding 80pm/h.
safia said:
on Tuesday 13-Dec-11 01:30 PM
We lose so many people to taxi accidents . There has to be much stricter laws and bigger fines and points system to stop this chaos on roads . Taxi bosses should pay big taxes which would be spent to put more traffic police on roads and more speed cameras and checking conditions of taxi vehicles . Also i think it would be great to reduce the speed limit and put some devices in taxis to stop exceeding 80pm/h.
Yolandi said:
on Tuesday 13-Dec-11 12:57 PM
I heard on the news the other day that roughly 150 people were killed in road crashes during the first ten days of December 2011. Shocking!!!
cherise said:
on Tuesday 13-Dec-11 09:36 AM
This is very interesting, I really did not know much about how these figures came about.
I do believe that we should pay more attention to the roads and accidents through out the year and not just during the festive and easter seasons, as the accident situation keeps getting worse each year- with new drivers on the road, road works as genevieve has stated and absolute reckless driving.
People should drive safely, not ignore important rules of the road, or the signs that are along the roads when traveling long distance,these are there for a reason and just have a safe trip.
Bianca said:
on Tuesday 13-Dec-11 09:35 AM
This time of year is extremely devastating as the loss of lives is very high, but in actual fact lives are being lost every day for various reasons. I prefer flying to my destination at this time of year as people are in such a rush to get their holiday started, what they do not realize is that it may become their last holiday and that could happen instantly.
Brenda said:
on Tuesday 13-Dec-11 08:36 AM
In today's life Johannesburg has become a rushed city. Everywhere you go you come across impatient drivers zipping through traffic as if they were on a race track. Just this morning i had a guy cut me off as he came right across three lanes before causing me to slam on breaks, and this because he did not want to be behind a truck.
It is people who drive in this manner that cause accidents on the roads. I am fortunate to have very good brakes on my vehicle, but you do get the older vehicles who simply just wont be able to brake in time and it could end up really disastrous.
Another thing that causes problems on the Road is the Taxi drivers who feel it is their right to stop wherever they please without warning, and that too has caused major havoc on our roads and in 90% of accidents you will probably find there is a taxi involved.
Nothing will change when it comes to the "rush" of this city, but people do need to be more cautious and patient on the road if this toll is to come down.
Alexis said:
on Tuesday 13-Dec-11 08:22 AM
As what you say might be true, this is my least favorite time of the year due to all these famalies being ruined. However they should rather do the toll for the whole year as everyday somebody is getting into an accident and getting fatally injured, you cannot just base it on the holiday seasons. That is just nonsense.
Genevieve said:
on Tuesday 13-Dec-11 08:22 AM
With the ongoing road works I also think that accident stats will be higher. Our roads are in a complete mess and if you do not travel a road on a regular basis, the road works can be confusing and lead to more accidents. People need to travel slower, take their time and enjoy the road trip. Do not speed or hurry because you want to get to your destination. Also, you need to think for other drivers on the road.
Johannesburg based attorney specializing in personal injury matters including Road Accident Fund claims and medical negligence matters. My interests include golf, reading and the internet and the way it is constantly developing. I have a passion for life and a desire for less stress!
