More than 70,000 RAF claims filed by young South Africans in 5 years
Young people are more vulnerable on the roads with 43.5% of personal claims submitted to the Road Accident Fund (RAF) in the past five years from individuals aged 15-35.
The number of claims submitted by individuals in this age group totalled 70,743.
Claimants under 15 years filed 15,227 claims.
RAF head of corporate communications McIntosh Polela said the high number of young people injured and killed on the roads was 'deeply troubling'.
'Human error is a major factor, and South Africans, especially the youth, must reflect on their behaviour and make better choices,' he said.
Polela said longer winter nights increase the risk of accidents, emphasising the need for vigilance.
According to the fund, road accidents are a leading cause of death for young people, contributing to about 41% of all road fatalities, averaging 4,620 deaths annually.
It said young people are often injured or killed as pedestrians (38%) or passengers (35%).
About 24,098 young people in the 15—34 age group were killed on South African roads from 2019 to 2023.
TimesLIVE
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald
21 hours ago
- The Herald
Local stars set to take on the best at karting nationals
Gqeberha karting enthusiasts are in for a treat this weekend when the third round of the SA National ROK Cup Championship takes place at the Celso Scribante Circuit at Algoa Kart Club on Victoria Drive. Leading the charge of the local stars is Jack Moore, who is the current championship leader in the OKJ class. He recently returned from representing SA at the FIA Karting Academy Trophy Series in Valencia, Spain, where he finished in 14th place overall. He will relish the benefit of the home-track advantage and will want to capitalise on this and try to extend his lead in the championship standings. Joining Moore in the OKJ class is the ever-consistent Aashay Nagura, who finds himself in eighth place in the championship after having missed the opening round. A newcomer to national karting, 16-year-old Wyatt Jonas is in third place in the fiercely competitive OK-N class and will certainly be one to watch after having joined forces with the NBR Karting Team under the mentorship of Neil Basilio. Joshua Moore returns from VW Rookie Cup duties to join in the OK-N action and is in seventh place overall after having missed the opening round due to a clash of dates in his busy schedule. Moore is just one point off the lead in the VW Rookie Cup Championship after another strong performance at Zwartkops last weekend. Another Bay resident and rising star is nine-year-old Egor Grishin, who seems destined for bigger and better things, competing in the hard-fought Mini Rok U10 class where mere milliseconds often separate the entire field of future stars. Grishin is in seventh place in the national standings that has just 28 points separating the top seven contenders. With Friday being just a practice and set-up day, the racing action starts with qualifying at 10am on Saturday, and the first race is scheduled for 12pm, where the five competing classes will have three heats each. Upcoming events: June 27-28: ROK Karting Nationals at Algoa Kart Club June 28: Rover Motorcycle Club Navigational Enduro round 3; Dirt Oval racing at Border Stockcar Track in East London July 5: Algoa Motorsport Club — Main Circuit racing round 4; Dirt Oval Racing at Victory Raceway, club championship round 6 July 18: National Extreme Festival, East London Grand Prix Circuit July 19: Dirt Oval racing at PEOTR, Club Championship round 6 July 24-26: Algoa National Rally in Kariega & Longmore Forest July 26: Rhino Night Relay Enduro at Rover Motorcycle Club July 27: British Classics Show Day at EP Veteran Car Club. The Herald
The Herald
a day ago
- The Herald
More than 70,000 RAF claims filed by young South Africans in 5 years
Young people are more vulnerable on the roads with 43.5% of personal claims submitted to the Road Accident Fund (RAF) in the past five years from individuals aged 15-35. The number of claims submitted by individuals in this age group totalled 70,743. Claimants under 15 years filed 15,227 claims. RAF head of corporate communications McIntosh Polela said the high number of young people injured and killed on the roads was 'deeply troubling'. 'Human error is a major factor, and South Africans, especially the youth, must reflect on their behaviour and make better choices,' he said. Polela said longer winter nights increase the risk of accidents, emphasising the need for vigilance. According to the fund, road accidents are a leading cause of death for young people, contributing to about 41% of all road fatalities, averaging 4,620 deaths annually. It said young people are often injured or killed as pedestrians (38%) or passengers (35%). About 24,098 young people in the 15—34 age group were killed on South African roads from 2019 to 2023. TimesLIVE
TimesLIVE
a day ago
- TimesLIVE
More than 70,000 RAF claims filed by young South Africans in 5 years
Young people are more vulnerable on the roads with 43.5% of personal claims submitted to the Road Accident Fund (RAF) in the past five years from individuals aged 15-35. The number of claims submitted by individuals in this age group totalled 70,743. Claimants under 15 years filed 15,227 claims. RAF head of corporate communications McIntosh Polela said the high number of young people injured and killed on the roads was 'deeply troubling'. 'Human error is a major factor, and South Africans, especially the youth, must reflect on their behaviour and make better choices,' he said. Polela said longer winter nights increase the risk of accidents, emphasising the need for vigilance. According to the fund, road accidents are a leading cause of death for young people, contributing to about 41% of all road fatalities, averaging 4,620 deaths annually. It said young people are often injured or killed as pedestrians (38%) or passengers (35%). About 24,098 young people in the 15—34 age group were killed on South African roads from 2019 to 2023.
