Road Accidents

When this research project was given to me I had no idea what to focus my project on. After a lot of thought and many ideas that just didn’t seem quite right I was talking with my dad one day and we came across the topic of road accidents and how often we hear of such tragedies in our country. I have chosen to research the factors that are affecting many road accidents in the Edenvale area. Many lives have been lost tragically in this area and residents are outraged that nothing is being done. I will be finding out statistics of the accident rate in South Africa and the factors that are causing these accidents as well as different types of road accidents not only in the Edenvale area but also all over our country so that I can piece together

The South African Police Department consider it a crime if you as a citizen doesn’t report the accident within 24 hours of it happening. The police department will investigate the accident further in the case of a fatality (death) and a possible culpable homicide charge can be layed. There are certain criminal procedures that occur when a car crash has happened for example in the case of reckless/negligent driving, driving under the influence (drugs or alcohol) and culpable homicide. There are also procedures which are in place if a person is proven guilty of a road offense (proving the accused guilty, arresting the accused, procedure after arrest and then bail

Potholes contribute 5% to South Africa’s road death rate. Plans are said to be underway to fix these potholes but nothing has actually been done yet; Cellphones – countless people use their cellphones while they are driving, therefore taking their attention off the road and this is very dangerous. Texting while driving makes driving six times more dangerous, 515000 injuries and 5870 deaths in the USA in 2008 is a result of distracted driving, texting decreases your reaction rate by 35% and your risk of crashing in 23 times higher when you text while driving; Not wearing your seatbelt – in South Africa only 65% of people wear seatbelt, leaving 35% of our population not wearing seatbelts! Seatbelts reduce car fatalities by 75%, saving 7 lives every single day! It is illegal not to wear your seatbelt!; Vehicle error/Unroadworthy vehicles - smooth tyres, poor brakes, defective lights, steering and suspension of the vehicle contribute to between 10% and 15% of car accidents; Environmental factors - poor road conditions and signposting, poor fencing, allowing stray animals on the road, poor visibility, etc. contribute to between 5% and 10% of car