Johannesburg – The DA has called for a special parliamentary investigation and debate on the high death toll on South Africa’s roads during the festive season.

“The investigation and debate should result in the recommendation of programmes that will reduce the unnecessary loss of lives on our roads, as well as a review of the manner in which these deaths are reported by the department of transport,” Democratic Alliance transport spokesperson Ian Ollis said on Thursday.

There were 1376 deaths on the country’s roads between 1 December  and 7 January, according to figures released by Transport Minister Dipuo Peters on Thursday.

“A major shift is needed to drastically reduce the number of lives lost on our roads,” Ollis said.

He said the figures did not take into account the coming weekend, which would be one of the busiest on the road as holidaymakers returned home in time for the new school year.

Ollis said the figures were also under-reported, as the department used police reports to measure road deaths, and not data from forensic mortuaries.

“Minister Peters has a responsibility to report on the matter fairly. She has not done so,” Ollis said.

SAPA