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Transport Minister Dipuo Peters says 1376 people were killed on the country's roads during the festive season.
She released the figures today covering the period between 1 December and 7 January.
Peters said for the period under review "there were 1147 crashes nationally with 1376 fatalities".
"It should be understood that these are preliminary figures," she added.
Peters said "it is with a great sense of duty and accountability for us as the transport sector to release to the South African public statistics on road crashes and the impact that the crashes have."
Gauteng recorded 223 crashes which resulted in 268 fatalities, while KwaZulu-Natal had 237 crashes and the highest number of fatalities, 284.
The Eastern Cape recorded 158 accidents with 190 fatalities and the Western Cape with 95 accidents but 114 fatalities.
