People are jumping in front of cars ON PURPOSE to claim, alleges Road Accident Fund

Lester Kiewit speaks to McIntosh Polela, Spokesperson for the Road Accident Fund (RAF).

Listen below.

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The RAF says it's increasingly receiving complaints from drivers reporting people deliberately throwing themselves in front of cars to claim from the fund.

It has warned it will not pay out if it is found a claimant intentionally got injured.

The RAF claims people wait for vehicles to slow down enough that they don’t get killed on impact.

Last month it was reported that the RAF was set to reject a billion rands worth of fraudulent claims in a bid to clamp down on corruption.

Polela says motorists are worried for their safety and their vehicles and are also concerned about potential liability.

"They're asking us what to do if people do this and if they're going to be found liable."

- McIntosh Polela, Spokesperson - Road Accident Fund

"Yesterday, I received three calls, with people confirming they have encountered this, one in Khayelitsha and two in Gauteng. The one in Khayelitsha said he chased down the person... and when asked why he did this, the person confessed that he had wanted or was hoping to get rich because he wanted to claim money from the fund."

McIntosh Polela, Spokesperson - Road Accident Fund

Realistically, how often is this happening, asks Kiewit.

Polela says it is becoming a big problem.

"If it was one or two people, believe me, we wouldn't have issued the public alert. Our call centres started receiving more and more calls and that's when we said we have a problem on our hands."

- McIntosh Polela, Spokesperson - Road Accident Fund

The RAF says 49, 631 claims were declined from 2021/2022 to 2023/24.

The claims were denied for various reasons including where a claimant was solely responsible for causing the road crash and for claims that were lodged fraudulently.

ALSO READ: RAF set to reject R1bn worth of fraudulent claims

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the interview.