The Road Accident Fund (RAF) has warned people who purposefully injure themselves in order to claim from the fund that they will not be compensated for these actions.
This comes after the entity became aware of a trend where citizens throw themselves against moving vehicles to claim damages.
These individuals allegedly wait for cars to slow down enough that they don’t get killed on impact before hurtling themselves in front of the moving vehicles.
“This behaviour is dangerous and adds unnecessary pressure on the fund which must assess and investigate claims of rightful claimants efficiently,” said the RAF.
“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.”
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,” it said.
“However, road safety and road crash prevention efforts must remain a priority to all as they contribute towards the reduction of accidents. ”
Over the last five years, South Africa recorded a total of 7,987 road fatalities during the festive season.
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%).
“Road users are urged to also remember that the Fund does not compensate for the death itself but only pays for the actual costs to cremate the deceased or bury them in a grave,” said the RAF.
R65 million in claims blocked
The RAF has blocked the disbursement of R65 million worth of claims over the last three financial years as part of a crackdown on fraudulent and corrupt activities.
A total of 2,031 fraudulent claims were rejected – 870 in 2023/2024, 713 in 2022/23, and 448 in 2021/22.
It further noted that over R1 billion in fraudulent claims were identified for rejection to safeguard the RAF’s financial resources and rightfully direct them to road crash survivors.
“The Fund’s fraud detection strategy aims to enhance the operational plan of ensuring that the RAF reduces the time it takes to pay legitimate claims to claimants that are genuinely impacted by road crashes,” it said.
“Fraud costs the RAF money and negatively impacts service delivery to road crash victims and their families. It is a national problem that threatens the very mandate which the organisation seeks to deliver on for road users.”
The RAF has thus forged partnerships with various law enforcement agencies and government departments to verify employment or personal information to resolve each case.
This plays a crucial part in the detection and deterrent of fraud, it said.
“We encourage all road crash survivors who suspect fraudulent activity from any party – internally or externally – to report it with immediate effect,” concludes the RAF.
“The RAF continues to enhance its anti-fraud and corruption efforts throughout the organisation in order to benefit road crash victims whose lives are sometimes changed forever by motor vehicle accidents.”
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