South Africans urged not to drink and walk

In South Africa, drinking and driving is not the only lethal combination involving alcohol and roads - drinking and walking can…

In South Africa, drinking and driving is not the only lethal combination involving alcohol and roads - drinking and walking can also be deadly.

"If you drink, do not drive or walk anywhere," Transport Minister Dullah Omar said in a statement on Thursday, amid a mounting festive-season carnage on the perilous roads.

Many of the 839 South Africans killed by Thursday on the roads in the traditionally worst month of December - the same total as for all December 2001 - were pedestrians who strolled drunk onto unlit roads at night, officials said. Hence Omar's unusual appeal against drinking and walking.

The Christmas period - which coincides with the summer break - is one of the most deadly as South Africans and foreign tourists flock to villages, beaches and game parks.

South Africa has one of the worst road-safety records in the world, with accidents claiming around 10,000 lives a year.

Poorly maintained and overcrowded mini-bus taxis are involved in many of fatal crashes.

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