Over 1,000 killed in festive season road crashes in South Africa

The figures mark a 5% drop from last year, Pretoria’s transport minister has said

At least 1,427 people died in 1,172 road crashes across South Africa during the 2025/26 festive season, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy announced on Thursday.

This represents a 5% reduction in road fatalities compared to the previous festive season. She said the figures mark the lowest number of crashes in five years and the same number of fatalities as in the 2023/24 festive season.

Creecy was briefing the media in Pretoria on the release of the Road Safety Report for the 2025 and 2026 festive season, joined by her deputy, Mkhuleko Hlengwa. She provided an update on the progress and preliminary results of the 2025/26 Festive Season Road Safety Campaign, as well as overall road safety outcomes for 2025.

”Preliminary data indicates a five percent reduction in both fatalities and crashes compared to the same period last year,” Creecy said.

Five provinces recorded reductions in fatalities, with the Eastern Cape and Free State achieving the highest percentage decreases. However, Gauteng, Western Cape, Mpumalanga, and Northern Cape saw increases in road deaths.

Creecy said there was a spike in crashes and fatalities between 15 and 28 December, contributing to more than 40 percent of the season’s total. 

“This confirms that festive season crashes increase once travellers have reached their destinations and are engaging in festivities, rather than during peak travel periods,” she said.

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Most incidents occurred over weekends between 7pm and 9pm, and again between midnight and 1am. They included collisions with pedestrians, hit-and-run incidents, single-vehicle overturns, and head-on collisions.

She said the highest number of pedestrian fatalities were reported in Cape Town, Johannesburg, eThekwini, Tshwane, and Nkangala District.

Small motor cars were involved in 55 percent of crashes, followed by light delivery vehicles at 20 percent. Minibus taxis and trucks accounted for seven and six percent of incidents, respectively.

Law enforcement efforts included 1,632 roadblocks, checking 1.8 million vehicles, issuing more than 450,000 fines, and arresting 525 motorists for excessive speeding. A total of 173,695 drivers were tested for alcohol, with 8,561 testing positive - a 144 percent increase from last year. 

KwaZulu-Natal recorded the highest alcohol reading, 14 times above the legal limit. The fastest recorded speed was 222km/h in a 120km/h zone in the Northern Cape. Officers also arrested 89 motorists for attempting to bribe traffic officials.

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Creecy highlighted road safety education, stating that 2,547 awareness programmes were conducted nationwide at mass transit points, malls, and other high-traffic areas to influence driver, pedestrian, and passenger behaviour.

Preliminary annual data for 2025 shows continued progress, with 11,418 fatalities from 9,674 crashes - the lowest in five years. She said when compared with 2024, crashes decreased by 6.4 percent and fatalities by 6.2 percent.

First published by IOL