OVERVIEW
All the statistics contained in this document relate to traffic accidents occurring on public roads in the City of Johannesburg during 2005. Accident statistics were derived from data captured by five local authorities, previously known as Johannesburg central, Midrand, Randburg, Roodepoort and Sandton.
During 2005 the number of accidents amounted to 111 019. These resulted in 662 fatalities, 3 750 serious injuries and 19 415 slight injuries. 274 pedestrians were killed, representing 41.4% of all the traffic fatalities.
188 023 vehicles were involved in traffic accidents, of which 68% were passenger cars. 2005 showed an increase in the total number of accidents reported compared to previous years. A decrease in the total number of traffic injuries was indicated.
Summary of 2005 Totals:
• Number of Accidents 111 019
• Accidents per Day 304
• Fatal Accidents 609
• Serious Injury Accidents 2 578
• Slight Injury Accidents 13 229
• Damage Only Accidents 94 603
• Vehicles involved 188 023
• Fatalities 662
• Pedestrians involved 4 699
• Pedestrians injured 3 462
Traffic accidents are categorised according to the most serious injury:
• An accident in which at least one person has been fatally injured, is a fatal accident
• An accident in which at least one serious injury (but no fatality) occurred is a serious injury accident
• An accident in which at least on slight injury (but no fatality or serious injury) occurred is a slight injury accident
• An accident in which no injuries occurred is a no injury (or damage only) accident
Traffic casualties or injuries are categorised into fatalities or deaths, serious injuries and slight injuries. For statistical purposes, persons dying as a result of a traffic accident within 6 days of the accident, are categorised as fatalities.
Although more than 660 people died in traffic accidents in the City of Johannesburg during 2005, the fatality rate per 10 000 registered vehicles compare favourably with those of other urban areas in South Africa, as well as the rates of African countries.
Fatalities per 10 000 Registered Vehicles
0 50 100 150 200
Malawi Brazil Uganda Kenya Swaziland Zambia India Egypt South Africa Ethekwini Gauteng Cape Town Johannesburg Korea Poland United States Spain Australia Japan Sweden
TRENDS
The total number of traffic accidents showed an upward trend between 2004 and 2005, but the number of casualties resulting from these accidents showed a downward trend. Fatalities per 1 000 accidents, which give an indication of the severity trend, showed an upward trend in the Randburg area.
Fatalities per 1 000 Accidents
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Johannesburg Midrand Roodepoort Randburg Sandton All areas
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Accident and Casualty trends
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Th
ous
a
COST
Cost (R million) Cost Category
R 8,481 Grand Total
R 4,580 Vehicle and Incident
R 3,901 Human Casualty
In South Africa, road traffic accident costs are divided into Human Casualty Costs and Vehicle and Incident Costs (DoT, 2004). Human Casualty Costs include loss of earnings, medical and funeral costs. Vehicle and Incident Costs include costs of vehicle and property damage and administration. Accidents in the City of Johannesburg cost approximately R 8.5 billion during 2005 - an average of R23.2 million per day.
Vehicle and Incident Costs
R 0
R 2
0
0
R 4
0
0
R 6
0
0
R 8
0
0
R
1,
00
0
R
1,
20
0
R
1,
40
0
R
1,
60
0
R
1,
80
0
Head-rear end Sideswipe same direction Turn from wrong lane Head-on Sideswipe opposite direction Turn in front of oncoming traffic Approach at angle: Both straight Approach at angle: Both turning Reversing Single vehicle: Overturned Single vehicle: Fixed object Pedestrian Bicycle Animal Other and Unknown
(Millions)
Human Casualty Costs
R 0 R 500 R 1,000 R 1,500 R 2,000 R 2,500
Fatal Serious Slight
M
illi
on
MONTH OF YEAR
On average, 304 accidents occurred per day, with the highest average per day taking place in November (383). Although the lowest number of accidents were recorded in December (250), the highest daily fatality rate was recorded in that month. On average during 2005, 1.8 people died daily in traffic in the City of Johannesburg. February showed the highest daily death toll (2.4) and January the lowest (1.2).
Fatalities per 1 000 Accidents
4.7
7.8 7.5
5.8 5.7 6.1 5.6
7.9 5.3 5.4
5.0 5.5
0 2 4 6 8 10
Janu ary
Febr uary
Mar ch
Apr il
May June July Augus
t Sept
em ber
Octo ber
Nove mb
er Dece
mbe r
Average 6.0 Average Accidents per Month
252
303 302 310 316 291 312 346
383 250 272
317
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
Janu ary
Feb rua
ry
March Apr il
May Jun e
Jul y
August Septe
mber Oc
tober Nove
mber Decem
ber
Average 304
TIME
OF DAY
& DAY
OF WEEK
The largest number of traffic accidents occurred on Fridays and the smallest number on Sundays. However, the largest number of fatalities occurred on Saturdays, followed by Fridays and Sundays. The largest number of casualties occurred between 20:00 and 23:59 – the fatality rates over that period are high for all days of the week.
Although traffic volumes are low on Saturday and Sunday mornings between 04:00 and 07:59, accidents tended to be severe during those hours.
Most pedestrians were killed on Saturdays and Fridays. They were most at risk during night-time (midnight to 03:59), followed by the period 20:00 to 23:59.
Fatalities per 1000 Accidents
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
00:00 to 03:59
04:00 to 07:59
08:00 to 11:59
12:00 to 15:59
16:00 to 19:59
20:00 to 23:59
Mondays to Thursdays Fridays Saturdays Sundays
Pedestrian fatalities per 100 Pedestrians involved
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
00:00-03:59 04:00-07:59 08:00-11:59 12:00-15:59 16:00-19:59 20:00-23:59 Unknown
ACCIDENT TYPE
Same direction, in particular head rear-end accidents, constituted 35% of the total number of accidents, while the type of 29% of accidents were unspecified. Almost 88% of head rear-end accidents resulted in no injuries.
Pedestrians were involved in only 3% of all accidents, but constituted nearly 36% of the total fatalities. Accidents where vehicles overturned also constituted a small percentage of the total accidents, but resulted in very severe casualties.
Accidents and Casualties by Type of Accident
0 10 20 30 40 Sa m e di re c tio n R ight a ngle F ixed obje c t Ov e rt u rn e d O ppo s it e dir e c tions Tu rn r ig h t in f a ce of onc om ing tr a ffi c P ed e st ri an Ot h e r Un k n o w n T housands Accidents Casualties
Fatalities and Serious injuries per 1000 Accidents
14 52 41 195 61 78 305 22 26 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 Sa m e d ir ect io n R ig ht a ngl e F ixed obj e c t O ver tu rn ed O ppos it e d ir ect io n s Tur n r ight in f ace o f onc om in g tra ffi c P ed est ri an Ot h e r U nk now n
ROAD TYPE
Just under 4% of accidents occurred on freeways but the severity of those was very high – the fatality rate per 1 000 accidents was higher than that of any other road type.
The number of casualties per 1 000 accidents was the highest for dual-carriageway roads (413), followed by freeways (380) and single-carriageway roads (307).
Same-direction accidents constituted 56% of the accidents occurring on freeways and ramps but the severity rate of those was not particularly high. However, the number of casualties per 1 000 accidents where vehicles overturned was extremely high: 1 094. The number of casualties per 1 000 pedestrian accidents was 1 047.
Fatality and Casualty rates
0 100 200 300 400 500
Freeway On or Off ramp One way Single
carriageway
Dual carriageway
Other 0 5 10 15 20 25
Casualties per 1 000 Accidents Fatalities per 1 000 Accidents
Freeways and Ramps
0 300 600 900 1200
Same direction
Right angle Fixed object Overturned Opposite direction
Pedestrian Other / Unknown
VEHICLES INVOLVED
Passenger cars constituted 68% of the total vehicle population and 62% of the vehicles involved in fatal accidents. Minibuses, on the other hand, constituted only 4% of the vehicle population but represented 10% of fatal accidents and 16% of the number of occupant casualties (drivers and passengers together). Trucks were also over-represented in fatal accidents.
Vehicles involved in Accidents
0% 20% 40% 60% 80%
Passenger cars Light delivery
vehicles Minibuses
Buses Motorcycles Trucks Other and Unknown
Vehicle population Fatal accidents All accidents
Vehicles involved in Fatal Accidents
Motorcar 61%
Other/Unkn 8%
Bus 2% Motorcycle
1% Truck
6% Light Delivery
Vehicle 12%
Minibus 10%
1
OCCUPANTS
Just under 10 000 passenger car drivers were injured in traffic accidents in 2005 – of those 174 died. Minibuses constituted 7% of driver casualties and 36% of passenger casualties. Buses represented only 2% of total number of passenger casualties. Light delivery vehicles constituted 10% of passenger fatalities and minibuses 17%. Minibus passengers are injured mostly between the time periods 16:00 to 19:59 and 04:00 to 07:59.
Driver Casualties
Motorcycle 3% Minibus
7% Light
delivery vehicle
10%
Passenger car 72%
Other/Unk 4%
Bicycle 1% Bus
1%
Truck 2%
Passenger Casualties
Motorcycle 0% Minibus
36% Light
delivery vehicle
9%
Passenger car
44% Other/Unk
6%
Bicycle 0% Bus
2%
Truck 3%
Passenger Casualties
0 200 400 600 800
00:00 to 03:59 04:00 to 07:59 08:00 to 11:59 12:00 to 15:59 16:00 to 19:59 20:00 to 23:59
1
PEDESTRIANS
Nearly 4 500 pedestrians were involved in traffic accidents; 6% died as a result of the accident. Passenger cars, minibuses and light delivery vehicles are mostly involved in pedestrian accidents – 12% of pedestrians were killed by minibuses and 5% by trucks. Pedestrian accidents tended to be more severe when trucks were involved.
Pedestrian Fatalities
Passenger car 56%
Light delivery
vehicle
11% Minibus 12%
Bus 2% Motorcycle
1% Truck
5% Unknown
13%
Pedestrian fatalities per 100 Pedestrians involved
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Passenger car
Light delivery
vehicle
1
ROAD USER AGE
Most people injured in traffic accidents were between the ages of 20 and 39 – 57% of drivers, 22% of passengers, 22% of pedestrians and 42% overall. Unspecified ages constituted a large percentage. Nearly a third of drivers injured in accidents were younger than 30.
Drivers
Passengers
Pedestrians
Driver Casualties
Under 19 2% Age 20 to 29
29%
Age 40 to 49 16%
Age 30 to 39 28%
Unspecified 13% Age 70 and
over 1% Age 60 to 69
3% Age 50 to 59
8%
Passenger Casualties
Age 40 to 49 6% Age 50 to 59
3% Age 60 to 69
1% Age 70 and
over 0% Unspecified
63%
Age 20 to 29 12% Age 30 to 39
10% Age 10 to 19
3% Under 10
2%
Pedestrian Casualties Under 10
4% Age 10 to 195%
Age 30 to 39 10% Age 20 to 29
12%
Unspecified 56%
Age 70 and over
1%
Age 60 to 69 2% Age 50 to 59
4% Age 40 to 49
1
VISIBILITY
Almost 75% of the total number of accidents occurred in clear daylight, while 48% of fatal accidents occurred in daylight. The severity of accidents during conditions other than clear daylight is much higher – especially on roads with no street lights.
During weekends, only 30% of fatal accidents occurred during daylight. Of all the fatal accidents occurring during night-time on unlit streets, 50% happened during weekends.
Fatalities per 1 000 Accidents
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Dawn/Dusk Daylight Night: streetlights
Night: unlit Unknown
Casualties per 1 000 Accidents
0 100 200 300 400
Dawn/Dusk Daylight Night: streetlights
Night: unlit Unknown
Fatal accidents
82%
70
%
53%
50
%
52
% 61
%
18%
30%
47
% 50%
48
%
39
%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Dawn/Dusk Daylight Night:
streetlights
Night: unlit Unknown Total
Weekdays Weekends
