Abstract
South Africa faces tremendous challenges to reduce the social and economic impact of traffic accidents on its roads. The cost to the South Africa economy has been estimated at approximately R13 billion per year. Cold statistics indicate that more than 9000 people are killed and 36000 seriously injured. The purpose of this paper is to present a background to current road safety developments and initiatives in South Africa. The paper will focus on the following: 1) institutional arrangements for traffic safety; 2) pertinent laws, regulations and strategy; 3) funding arrangements for traffic safety; 4) accident statistics and data collection; and 5) current problems. (Author/publisher).