More than 8 500 young people died on SA roads in last three years

• More than 8 500 young people died in road crashes over the last three years.
• Those aged between 30 and 34 are the most affected by road deaths.
• Gauteng recorded the highest number of road deaths among youth people.

More than 8 500 young people have died in road accidents in the last three years, according to the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC).

In a statement, the RTMC said South Africa was experiencing "an alarming epidemic of deaths among its youth" due to road crashes.

"A total of 8 547 young people between 21 and 34 years of age died on the roads in the past three years (2019 to 2021)," said RTMC CEO advocate Makhosini Msibi.

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Those aged 30 to 34 were most affected and 3 661 people in this age group died because of road crashes in the three-year period.

"These alarming statistics serve as a clarion call to young people to prioritise road safety as they engage in Youth Month festivities this month," said Msibi.

Msibi added:

Gauteng recorded the highest number of youth road fatalities with 1 380 deaths, followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 1 235 fatalities, the Eastern Cape with 1 201, and Limpopo with 1 127. These four provinces account for more than half of the fatalities among young people.

Msibi said road fatalities come with a "devastating impact on the economy and the future of the country". Msibi estimated that fatal crashes cost the economy R188.31 billion last year alone.

In 2021, more than 10 000 fatal crashes resulted in 12 500 deaths.

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