An important week ahead

On Friday we reported that 17 people had perished in road accidents on or around Christmas Day alone. The accidents did not include dozens of others recorded during the entire festive season thus far. This means that while the entire country was abuzz with Christmas celebrations, several families across the nation were in mourning for their loved ones. Instead of gift bags, they were carrying coffins. When the masses are deciding which restaurant to take the family for dinner, other families were pondering where to bury their dead. Today is this year’s last Monday and tomorrow is its last Tuesday. This means that the much-anticipated 2014 is just around the corner and we all want to be part of it. But there is a thin line between making it to 2014 and not crossing over into it. The fate, most of the time, is in our own hands. It has become something of a tradition now in Namibia that we embark on binge drinking on days such as New Year’s Eve. That day is always the joyful and busiest for revellers and drunks. It is on a day like this that we see a significant increase in ambulance and emergency room attendance - the lion’s share of which are due to acute alcohol intoxication on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. The implications are often fatal. Road accidents are the main consequence of such behaviour and this is an undeniable truth. It therefore goes without saying that while we need to be careful at all times, this particular period of the year calls for extraordinary measures of taking care of oneself. Alcoholic drinks are a traditional staple of New Year’s Eve celebrations, and even if you don’t typically drink that much during the year, you’ll probably find yourself indulging on this particular night. The key, however, is not to overindulge. But apart from drinking, there is an issue of speeding that this country has dismally failed to control for dozens of years. After Wednesday, which is New Year’s Day, hundreds of compatriots will embark on long journeys back to their regular places. It is our humble call that all road users appreciate the risks associated with this particular time of the year and the need to be cautious all the time – driving within the authorised speed limit, and soberly so.