Unpacking road safety at a district level the case of Cape Town, South Africa

Abstract

South Africa is known for its high level of road fatalities. The, so called, road safety burden in the Western Cape, and in particular Cape Town, has been decreasing, due to a prolonged investment in road safety measures. However, the decrease seems to have plateaued and further analysis of available data is required to identify further measures. In this study, fatality data for the years 2011 to 2015 was taken to a local level. Absolute fatalities, as well as the fatalities per 100 000 population, are compared. The mode of transport used is also compared to the level of road fatalities. The detailed analysis revealed that an area, such as Khayelitsha, which has a very high road fatality burden per annum, has a low level of fatalities per 100 000 population, i.e. the value is equal to the global average (much better than many African countries and cities). Comparatively, an area, such as Durbanville, has a lower absolute number of fatalities per annum, however, the fatalities per 100 000 inhabitants are very high. Finally, it was found that the vulnerable road users - pedestrians and cyclists - had a comparatively higher fatality number to mode usage. The study deduced that the road safety burden in South African cities, including Cape Town, is still very high and that informed road safety measures are required. Overall, it could be concluded that both the average annual fatalities and the average annual fatalities per 100 000 population need to be determined when identifying areas where road safety measures should be implemented