Road accidents cost the South African economy an estimated R581bn ($78bn) between 1996 and 2006, according to a report by the country's Department of Transport.
The report includes a cost analysis in its assessment of the economic toll of road accidents which kill over 14,000 people annually and injure 150,000.
"The estimated total costs of road accidents over the eleven year period, R581bn, give an idea of how much South Africa has lost out on potential production input or skills," the report said.
South Africa, which wants to halve road deaths by 2014, has beefed up traffic enforcement and bolstered road safety education ahead of the 2010 football World Cup, which will be hosted in the country. Children and pedestrians are particularly at risk on South Africa's roads. A child in South Africa is 26 times more likely to die on the roads than a child in the European Union.
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