The Eastern Cape has three of the five most dangerous roads to drive on, according to Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) statistics.The list is based on the frequency of fatal crashes on the routes. Dangerous or reckless driving is cited as one of the main reasons for accidents on the routes.Overall, the Eastern Cape had the second-highest increase in fatalities in the 2023/2024 reporting period (from 264 in 2023 to 335 in 2024) or 28.89% after Northern Cape at 48.98% (96 to 108). There is a steady stream of trucks from the manganese mines in the province to the port of Port Elizabeth.There was an average of one fatal truck accident a day on South Africa’s roads, or 2 237 involving 3 546 trucks over a five year period (2018 – 2023).Key contributing factors include poor road conditions, overloaded and poorly maintained trucks, and driver fatigue due to long hours. RTMC figures show that tyre bursts and faulty brakes were the highest contributors to crashes under the vehicle factors category at 54.0% and 22.5.0% in quarter four of 2023/2024; and at 48% and 18.7% respectively in quarter four of 2022/2023.Heav y load vehicles weighing over 3 500 kg are responsible for 9.4% of all fatal crashes on the country’s roads, according to the RTMC. In 2023/2024 KwaZulu-Natalhad the highest share of fatal truck crashes at 22.4% of the total, while the Northern Province recorded the lowest at 2.5%.The three Eastern Cape routes with the highest fatalities were the N2 Dutywa road (second), N2 Mount Ayliff, and the R61 Mbizana (fourth and fifth).South Africa’s most dangerous route is the R573 Moloto Road in Mpumalanga. There were 33 accidents and 38 fatalities in 2023/2024. It has held the title of “most dangerous road” for the past five years.Connecting Pretoria to Marble Hall through three provinces, the 160km route carries around 60 000 commuters a day, according to the Department of Transport. The South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) reports that it has invested R3.7 billion for the first phase of upgrading the road in the Mpumalanga and Limpopo sections, and work is under way.The N2 Dutywa (second) road, which runs from Cape Town in the Western Cape along the Garden Route through the Eastern Cape to Durban in KwaZulu-Natal had 29 accidents and 39 fatalities in 2023/2024.Third most dangerous is the R71 Mankweng route, which connects Polokwane, Phalaborwa and Tzaneen and has heavy truck traffic. It had 27 crashes in the same period, with 30 fatalities.Fourth is the N2 Mount Ayliff section of the N2, which links Mount Frere and Mount Ayliff. Sanral is busy upgrading the section, which leads to occasional closures to allow for blasting.According to the RTMC’s 2023 report on bus and truck accidents, most crashes on this route are head-on collisions. Hazards include pedestrian and animal traffic in more remote areas, poor road markings and signage, and bad road conditions. ER
