DEALING WITH DEATH ON THE ROADS S v Nyathi 2005 2 SACR 273 (SCA)

Abstract

Some fifteen years ago, Beck CJ stated in a Transkeian culpable homicide case that the need to reflect the concerns of the community about the rate of fatal collisions on the roads by avoiding “undue leniency in punishing drivers who are negligent or reckless has never been greater” (S v Mncunza 1990 2 SACR 96 (Tk) 98c). It is submitted that nothing has changed in the interim and, if anything, these words resonate even more today in the context of the plague of death on this country’s roads. Society expects the courts to protect
innocent road-users by imposing appropriately severe sentences, including imprisonment, on offenders who drive grossly negligently or recklessly (S v Birkenfield 2000 1 SACR 325 (SCA) par [9]). In the case of S v Nyathi, the Supreme Court of Appeal was presented with the opportunity to address these concerns.