South Africa accounts for about 14 200 of the 1.3 million road deaths annually worldwide, said Minister of Transport Jeff Radebe on Sunday.

He was speaking during the observation of the World Remembrance Day for Road Traffic Victims held in Soweto.

He said the socio-economic cost of accidents was unreasonable with the most vulnerable being pedestrian children, the elderly and handicapped people.

"The theme for this year captures the essence of this by saying we are all vulnerable, but the most vulnerable deserved particular attention. Although the proportion varies considerably from country to country the vulnerable road users represent about one to three of the people killed in road accidents," he said.

Radebe said: "Through the Road Traffic Management Corporation's rolling enforcement strategy we aim to deploy technology to increase performance rates of officers and encourage compliance as well as improvement in reporting for all crashes."

"As we tighten the bolts and get to grips with the heart of the problem, law enforcement authorities will make sure that more drivers and vehicles are legally registered and licensed to ensure compliance rates of 95 percent by 2010. No doubt there has to be a decrease in the number of un-roadworthy and unlicensed vehicles to improve safety levels," he said.