Alarming stats by the Road Traffic Management Corporation has revealed that a total of 8547 young people between the ages of 21 and 34 years of age died on the roads in the past three years in South Africa.

According to The stats collected by the RTMC South Africa is experiencing an alarming epidemic of deaths amongst its youth due to road crashes. The worst affected category is among those aged 30 and 34 years, with 3661 of them dying because of road crashes in the three-year period.

These alarming statistics serve as a wake up call to young people to prioritise road safety as they engage  in Youth Month festivities. Factors that contribute to high number of road fatalities among the youth include persistent risk taking behavior such as reluctance to use safety belt, driving at speed that are too high for circumstances and driving under the influence of alcohol.

The provinces with alarming highest number of youth road fatalities are Gauteng with 1380 deaths, KwaZulu-Natal with 1235 and Limpopo with 1127.

The RTMC has called for high level of consciousness about road safety among the youth as road fatalities in this sector of society has a devastating impact on the economy and the future of the country.

RTMC CEO, Adv. Makhosini Msibi said South Africa faces a crisis on its roads and most of the victims are the economically active age group that is needed for the development of the country.

“Its saddening to read the road crash investigation reports that in most cases people die on the roads because failure to use safety belts. In many instances it has been found that safety belts have been cut off or tied under the seat of vehicle and thus could not be used to save lives, said Msibi.