Pretoria - A total of 92 lives were lost in 79 crashes across the province in the North West over festive season.
However, the provincial government expects the preliminary provincial statistics on fatalities to increase considering that there are 13 unreported accidents which still need to be submitted for capturing.
Despite a notable decrease in passenger and pedestrian fatalities from 34 to 27 and 29 to 23 respectively on the province's roads during the 2009 December period compared to the same period in 2008, the provincial government remains concerned.
MEC for Public Safety, Howard Yawa said that 70.7 percent of the 5388 traffic fines issued during the December operations were for speeding violations.
"At this rate, the implementation of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) Act this year will see many drivers losing their drivers licenses due to their obsession with speed which remains the major cause of the carnage on our roads year in and year out," said Yawa.
