Law enforcement and traffic authorities have raised concerns about the escalating number of drunk drivers arrested across the Eastern Cape.
Almost 300 people were nabbed for driving while under the influence between Wednesday and Sunday morning, with more arrested to expected as operations continued on Monday.
The Easter weekend death toll stood at more than 20 on Monday morning.
Provincial law enforcement agencies had embarked on a number of operations on Sunday, including one on the N2 near the Brakfontein off-ramp outside KuGompo City, where 12 alleged drunken drivers were arrested in just two hours.
Provincial transport spokesperson Unathi Binqose said on Monday that 296 alleged drunk drivers had been arrested on provincial roads between Wednesday and Sunday morning
Almost 40 of those drunken-driving arrests were made in the Buffalo City Metro.
Binqose said the number of arrests in just four days was deeply concerning, as driving while under the influence was one of the main causes of serious crashes.
While saying the national government would release the consolidated stats soon, Binqose confirmed that road fatalities in the province exceeded 20.
During the 2025 Easter weekend, Binqose said, a total of 28 people, including pedestrians, lost their lives on Eastern Cape roads.
“In the past few days, we have had three major accidents that accounted for 15 lives, seven in Gqeberha, which is by far the worst. Another one on Good Friday claimed three lives on the R67 road between KwaMaqoma and Komani, and another one a day earlier, on the same road, which claimed a total of five lives.
“We have had other deadly crashes, including pedestrian fatalities in between,” he said.
On Sunday, seven people died in a head-on accident involving a seven-seater vehicle and a truck in Gqeberha.
All occupants in the vehicle died, while the truck driver sustained minor injuries and is receiving counselling.
A head-on collision in the early hours of Friday claimed three lives on the R67 road between Seymour and Whittlesea.
The collision involved an SUV and a sedan.
“The SUV, carrying three occupants, caught fire following the impact. Two occupants tragically burned in the vehicle and were declared dead at the scene.
“A 13-year-old boy, who was also in the SUV, managed to escape from the burning vehicle and was rushed to Frontier Hospital for urgent medical treatment.
“The driver of the sedan, who was alone in the vehicle, also succumbed to injuries and was declared dead at the scene.”
They generally look at a window of seven days post a crash to see if somebody passes on after a particular crash
— Unathi Binqose, provincial transport spokesperson
A day earlier, also on the R67, five people died and one was seriously injured after a VW Microbus lost control and overturned between Komani and Whittlesea.
Binqose said the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RMTC) followed up on those who sustained serious injuries and later died.
“They generally look at a window of seven days post a crash to see if somebody passes on after a particular crash.
“If that person dies within those seven days, they are regarded as having died as a result of injuries sustained in that crash.
“But if they die later, they are not counted in the stats of road fatalities,” he said.
A total of 943 motorists were arrested countrywide for driving under the influence of alcohol, between Thursday and Saturday.
RMTC spokesperson Simon Zwane said drunk driving had been a headache over the Easter weekend.
He said there was a 31.6% increase in the number of vehicles impounded countrywide, with 1,215 vehicles taken off the road in the period.
Transport MEC Xolile Nqatha extended his condolences to the families and loved ones of the deceased and wished the injured people a full and speedy recovery.
Daily Dispatch
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