Truck accidents the startling reality

It is the task of the Road
Traffic Management
Corporation [RTMC] to
compile and research crash
statistics in SA.
And SA, it said, as a
developing country, has an
unacceptably
high rate of
road traffic
accidents.
There are more
than 14 000
fatalities and an
estimated 150 000
injuries per year.
But it’s truck accidents that
make the headline news. And
a primary indication of just
how bad this problem can
be is to look at the statistics
for Durban. It’s the busiest
trucking city in the country,
because about 7 500 trucks
a day are required just to
handle the transport needs
generated by the Port of
Durban.
And about 20% (roughly
1 500 a day) of them pour in
from all around the country
and overborder.
To add insult to injury, the
eThekwini transport
authority records an
annoyingly similar
figure of
about 7 400
accidents
involving
trucks on
municipal
roads in any
one year.
Rear-ending and
sideswiping while travelling
in the same direction are
the most common causes of
accidents – accounting for
around 55% of them.
It’s also worth noting that
most accidents take place on
weekdays, and outside peak
traffic periods.