Recap of SA’s 10 most dangerous roads ahead of the festive season

Ahead of the festive season rush, the Road Accident Fund, which is the insurer that provides liability and collision insurance coverage to all drivers in SA, has reminded South Africans of the most dangerous roads in the country .

The Eastern Cape is home to the most dangerous road: the N2.

The “most dangerous” 10 roads are spread across six provinces, with the Western Cape, North West, Free State and Northern Cape escaping the list.

Here are the most dangerous roads as listed by the Road Traffic Management Corporation:

1. N2 — East London to Mthatha in the Eastern Cape (231km);
2. N2 — Mthatha to Kokstad in the Eastern Cape (188km);
3. N1 — Mokopane to Polokwane in Limpopo (54.8km);
4. N1 —  Polokwane to Makhado in Limpopo (109km);
5. N4 — Middelburg to Belfast in Mpumalanga (71.6km);
6. N2 — Durban to Tongaat in KwaZulu-Natal (48.4km);
7. N12 — Springs to Witbank, linking Gauteng and Mpumalanga (101km);
8. R573 — Pretoria to KwaMhlanga in Mpumalanga, the stretch of road infamously known as Moloto Road (73.8km);
9. N1 — Naboomspruit to Mokopane in Limpopo (44.3km); and
10. R71 — Polokwane to Tzaneen in Limpopo (94.9km).

Despite the Western Cape not being home to any of these notoriously dangerous stretches of road, the province recorded a high number of road fatalities in the previous festive season. Transport minister Fikile Mbalula released those figures in January.

The breakdown of last year's festive reason road fatalities was as follows:

• Western Cape — 132 fatalities;
• KwaZulu-Natal — 289; 
• Limpopo  — 188;
• Northern Cape — 36;
• Gauteng — 231;
• North West — 99;
• Eastern Cape — 228; 
• Free State — 107; and
• Mpumalanga — 141.

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