NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
FOR WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION NO 1121
DATE REPLY SUBMITTED: FRIDAY, 06 NOVEMBER 2009
DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: FRIDAY, 04 SEPTEMBER 2009
(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 14 â 2009)
Mr P J Groenewald (FF Plus) asked the Minister of Transport:
(1) Whether any plans are in place to upgrade the N12 between
Johannesburg and Potchefstroom to a dual carriageway; if not, why not;
if so, when it will be completed;
(2) how many car accidents took place on the N12 between Johannesburg and
Potchefstroom (a) in (i) 2006, (ii) 2007, (iii) 2008 and (b) during
the period 1 January 2009 up to the latest specified date for which
information is available;
(3) how many deaths were reported on the N12 between Johannesburg and
Potchefstroom (a) in (i) 2006, (ii) 2007, (iii) 2008 and (b) during
the period 1 January 2009 up to the latest specified date for which
information is available?
NW1386E
REPLY:
The Minister of Transport:
1) The South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) has advised
that the section of the N12 from the N1 (in Gauteng) to the
Gauteng/North West provincial border falls under the jurisdiction of
the Gauteng Provincial Department of Roads and Public Transport.
The section between the provincial border up to Potchefstroom is part
of the national road network under the jurisdiction of SANRAL. SANRAL
is currently upgrading and rehabilitating the section between
Potchefstroom and 10 km to the east of Potchefstroom. This section is
already a dual lane in each direction â 4 lane undivided.
The section between the provincial border and the previous section is
programmed, at this stage, for construction to commence early in 2011.
The design brief calls for rehabilitation of the existing road
surface and to examine areas where additional lane capacity is
required for safety reasons and to improve the capacity of the road.
2) (a) and (b) Please refer to Table 1 below.
Table 1: N12 from Johannesburg to Potchefstroom: Fatal Crashes
per year
|Year |Fatal |% Of fatal |
| |crashes |crashes per |
| | |year |
|2006 |136 |63 |
|2007 |27 |13 |
|2008 |36 |17 |
|(b) |17 |8 |
|2009 | | |
|Total |216 |100 |
Figure 1: N12 from Johannesburg to Potchefstroom: Fatal Crashes
per year
[pic]
Note: 2009 data is only for seven (7) months from January to July.
The table and graph above show that 63% of the 216 fatal crashes
recorded for the period 2006 to July 2009 happened in the year 2006,
followed by 2008 with 17% of fatal crashes. It is important to note
that less than 20% of fatal crashes were recorded for the years 2007,
2008 and 2009.
It is important to note that the Road Traffic Management Corporation
(RTMC) currently only collects statistics on fatal crashes and
fatalities. It is for this reason that the statistics provided in
response to the question are on fatal crashes and fatalities only. In
order to be able to collect all crash data, irrespective of whether
they are fatal or not, the Corporation developed a real time crash
reporting system. This system will have crash data captured at police
stations, metro offices as well as community safety and transport
departments crash data capturing centres. Once captured, data will be
available real time to stakeholders through a touch screen executive
dashboard and later on through the internet. Preparations for a pilot
of the system are currently underway.
3) (a) and (b) Please refer to Table 2 below.
Table 2: N12 from Johannesburg to Potchefstroom:
Fatalities per year
|Year |Fatalities|% of |
| | |fatalities |
| | |per year |
|2006 |57 |38 |
|2007 |31 |21 |
|2008 |42 |28 |
|(b) |20 |13 |
|2009 | | |
|Total |150 |100 |
Figure 2: N12 from Johannesburg to Potchefstroom:
Fatalities per year
[pic]
Note: 2009 data is only for seven (7) months (from January to July).
Of the 150 fatalities recorded for the four years, about 38% were
recorded for 2006, followed by 2008 with 28%, 2007 with 21% and 2009
with 13% respectively. A 17% reduction in fatalities was registered
from 2006 to 2007. However, there was a 7% increase between 2007 and
2008. The percentage of fatalities recorded in 2008 remains 10% below
that of 2006. The fact that the road remains narrow despite increases
in traffic volume that is growing exponentially could be one of the
reasons for the fluctuating number of fatalities year-on-year. What
is heartening, though, is the observation that a drastic reduction was
recorded from 2006 to 2007, which could be attributed to the
aggressive law enforcement operations implemented in the area.
Engineering interventions could also assist in improving the picture
further.