Pretoria - People who suffered injuries in road accidents were being assisted by the State, the Road Accident Fund said on Saturday.
A national drive is underway, urging victims to contact the RAF for settlements, spokeswoman for the agency Nozipho Jafta said.
“We would like to see those victims getting help from us. We are using different forms to reach communities, who may not have known of the RAF,” she said.
On Saturday, the fund held a community outreach roadshow at Vukani Mawethu Secondary School in Mamelodi, east of Pretoria. Within hours, accident victims had laid claims amounting to R2 million.
“These are people from the (Mamelodi) community taking advantage of our presence here today. Not only are they getting financial aid but we have other accessories they need like wheelchairs,” she said.
Issuing pamphlets on their services, the RAF entourage visited the home of one accident victim Tys Moya in Mamelodi east.
The wheelchair riddled and elated Moya, 32, said apart from the cash settlement, the RAF also assigned him a caregiver.
“As you can see I am very happy. I go to work and I have purchased a taxi (minibus) for my business. I got immense help from the RAF,” said Moya.
Nationally, the RAF is providing assistance to more than 13 500 accident victims. Services like home adjustments, financial aid and vehicle modifications if the victim still needs to drive.
Member of Parliament's oversight committee on transport Rebecca Motsepe said road safety needs to be part of the school curriculum in a bid to reduce road carnage.
“Sometimes accident victims are so poor but they seek the services representatives (lawyers). Those representatives take the money which was supposed to go down to the victims,” she said.
Last year, Thomas Ferreira, who was seriously injured in a crash with a government vehicle, was given an interim payout of R870 000 by the RAF.
Ferreira was hit by a vehicle linked to the then Gauteng MEC for local government and housing Humphrey Mmemezi. He suffered brain damage in November 2011.
The payout was used to cover Ferreira's hospital bill.
The RAF is a public institution set up to compensate people injured in road accidents and the dependants of people killed in road carnage. The organisation gets funding through a fuel levy which is included in the price of petrol and diesel. - Sapa