TWENTY-SEVEN of the 34 people who died in road crashes at the weekend were killed in the Free State.

In a horrific crash outside Fouriesburg on Saturday, 20 people, including a two-year-old boy, were killed in a bus accident.

The bus was travelling from Bloemfontein towards Bethlehem when the driver lost control and it overturned. Another 15 people were injured and taken to hospital. A case of culpable homicide is being investigated.

In another accident in the province, eight people died and several were injured in a head-on collision between a minibus taxi and a truck outside Villiers on Friday.

Transport Minister S'bu Ndebele once again called on motorists to play their part in making roads safer.

"We call upon South Africans to play a more active role in road safety in 2011 as part of the United Nations Decade of Action against Road Deaths from 2011 to 2020," he said.

In Limpopo yesterday, three people died when the car they were travelling in overturned on the N1 highway outside Bela-Bela

Two people, including a 12-year-old boy, were killed and five others injured in a head-on collision involving two bakkies in Uitenhage, Eastern Cape. The boy was flung out of the vehicle and died on the scene.

The driver of the one bakkie was arrested on the scene and faces charges of culpable homicide, driving under the influence of alcohol and reckless and negligent driving.

Ndebele said more than 26000 vehicles had been taken off the roads, while traffic authorities have stepped up enforcement on school routes countrywide. The campaign is called "back to school safety".