Road Traffic Management Corporation RTMC CEO Advocate Makhosini Msibi says the bribing of law enforcement officers by drivers is a growing problem in the country.
The RTMC executive was briefing the Portfolio Committee on Transport about the Easter weekend road incident figures.
Msibi says, "Drunken drivers that we have arrested and what has become a phenomenon because most of the public believes that they can buy their way out of the police officers, bribery becomes a common phenomenon. And if you look at the numbers of drunken drivers that we have arrested and also who were also charged with bribery, the number is increasing. The same also, if you look in terms of those that have been arrested for the bribery, it's for the first time the figures have risen in relation to these matters."
The Road Traffic Management Corporation says pedestrian crossings on public roads, drunken driving and speeding, were the main causes of fatalities during the 2025 Easter weekend.
Msibi adds, "If you look at the five-year-term analysis, pedestrians are contributing 41 of the fatalities that we have on an annual basis. Therefore, if you deal with the pedestrians, you will then invariably be dealing with the high number of fatalities. We look at speed, which is one of the issues which has a contributory factor, drunk driving, the issue of the safety belts to that extent, it is also a contributing factor."
