SA road accidents shave 3.4% off the GDP

Minister of Transport, Dipuo Peters.

Road accidents cost South Africa's economy R142.95 billion per annum, according to the Minister of Transport, Dipuo Peters.

Speaking at the 3rd National Road Safety Summit in Durban earlier this week, Peters quoted from a 2016 study conducted by Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) and the Council for Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR).

Peters said this loss translated to 3.4% of South Africa's gross domestic product (GDP). It was 1.4% higher than the international benchmark, she added.

Peters said the department was in the process of establishing Community Road Safety Councils as part of its social upliftment and reconstruction programme in line with the NDP. The structures will be established by 2017.