Motorists should exercise Christian and Constitutional values when using the roads during the Easter break, Transport Minister Dipuo Peters said on Thursday.

"The launch of our ... safety campaign today [Thursday] resonates with the teachings bequeathed to us by our faith in Christ and the values underwritten by the Constitution of ... of South Africa," Peters said.

In a speech prepared for delivery at the launch of the 2014 Easter Arrive Alive Road Safety Campaign in Kimberley, Northern Cape, Peters said hundreds of motorists died on the roads every year over the Easter break.

"Sadly, it is this time each year that our roads become pitfalls of tragic loss of human life," she said.

One of the reasons behind this was that motorists assumed an "antithetical pose to our Christian and other religious teachings, and the values enshrined in our Constitution".

She said motorists should love and have respect for the life of others when using the roads during Easter.

"These and other values similar to them are at the apex of the development of a common understanding and the spreading of common messages about road safety."

Motorists should respect road users and follow the necessary road safety precautions.

These included making sure their cars were roadworthy, that they buckled up their seatbelt, and ensuring their children were safe while driving.

She also urged motorists to avoid overtaking at clearly marked barrier lines and other prohibiting road signals, to follow the specified speed limit, and to not drink and drive.