The Road Accident Fund (RAF) has warned that it’ll not pay out people who intentionally throw themselves in front of a vehicle with the hope of cashing in on the Fund. The RAF said it had observed a trend where such fraudsters who wait for the vehicles to slow down enough that they don’t get killed on impact before throwing themselves. “This behaviour is dangerous and adds unnecessary pressure on the Fund which must assess and investigate claims of rightful claimants efficiently. The RAF does not compensate someone who intentionally causes a motor vehicle accident, even if this results in serious injuries. In the event of death, the RAF further does not compensate beneficiaries of those who are the authors of their own misfortune,” said RAF in the statement. According to the fund, the RAF Act requires that the respective degrees of fault, blame or negligence, amongst other things, must be determined upon receiving a claim. “We acknowledge road users may be faced with socio-economic challenges. However, road safety and road crash prevention efforts must remain a priority to all as they contribute towards the reduction of accidents,” added the statement. Moreover, the RAF said it declined about 49 631 claims between 2021 until 2024. The Fund explained that some of the reasons for the rejection of these claims include cases where a claimant was solely responsible for causing the road crash, claims where the claimant died before finalisation of the claim, where injuries sustained were so minor that no claim for damages arose, and claims that were lodged fraudulently.The Fund expressed concern that over the last five years, 7987 road fatalities were recorded during the festive season. “Festive season road crash statistics cover a 42-day period, from 01 December to 11 January each year. A total of 84% of these fatal road crashes resulted from human conduct. Pedestrians and passengers were the most affected road users at 40% and 33% respectively, followed by drivers (26%) and cyclists (1%),” said RAF.The Fund sought to remember the public that it does not compensate for the death itself, but only pays for the actual costs to cremate the deceased or bury them in a grave.
