South Africans are more likely to be shot dead than to die in vehicle accidents, according to a new study.
According to researcher Sarah Meek from the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) writing in SA Crime Quarterly, South Africans were more likely to be murdered than to die in accidents.
Meek said the use of guns in crime remained high and, according to the annual report of the National Injury Mortality Surveillance System (NIMSS), death caused by firearms was higher in South Africa than death occurring through road traffic accidents or any other external cause of non-natural death.
However, chairman of the National Firearms Forum Alex Holmes said although he did not question the figures, comparing accidents with murder was not comparing apples with apples.
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'More guns did not cause more deaths' "There are about five million vehicles on the road and scores of people are killed in accidents. But in 1999 only six people were killed accidentally with firearms.
"This indicates that gun owners are more responsible than drivers," Holmes said.
Although the murder rate has been on the decrease since 1994, an average of 55 South Africans are still murdered every day, more than in many countries which are at war.
In the first nine months of 2001 (the latest figures released by the police) 3 728 were killed in KwaZulu-Natal, an average of about 13 a day.
Holmes pointed out that the number of legal gun owners had increased by 64 percent since 1992, while the murder rate had dropped by about 29 percent.
"This shows that more guns did not cause more deaths," he said.
However, South African firearm statistics are still some of the grimmest on record.
The NIMSS report, which is based on data collected from 15 mortuaries in five provinces, recorded 18 876 fatal firearm injuries in 2000, estimated to account for 24-29 percent of all non-natural deaths in South Africa during that 12 month period.
By comparison, 23 percent of deaths were due to all motor vehicle collision categories combined. For more than 44 percent of the firearm fatalities, the manner of death was murder, followed by accidents (35 percent) and suicide (nine percent). Men are most likely to be the victim of murder while women are most likely to be killed in accidents.
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