Motorists heed the safety call

JANA-MARI SMITH



Road-safety campaigners saw their efforts rewarded for a second consecutive year with a welcome dip in car crashes, injuries and deaths during the festive season.

While the death toll remained high, with 70 people killed on the country’s roads between 1 December and 5 January, it marked 20% fewer fatalities than the 88 people who died in car crashes during the same period last year.

The data provided this week by the Motor Vehicle Accident (MVA) Fund of Namibia, which includes only crashes involving injuries and fatalities, further shows an 8% decline in crashes - 367 compared to 400 last year.

Moreover, 682 persons sustained crash injuries this December and early January, compared to 703 last year.

A similar trend was observed over the 2018 and 2019 festive season compared to the previous holiday period.

Between 25 November 2018 and 3 January 2019 a 14% reduction in crashes, an 18% reduction in injuries and a 29% reduction in fatalities were recorded compared to the 2017 and 2018 festive period.

Better drivers

The Namibian police this week stated that driver compliance had improved notably, with fewer persons caught drunk behind the wheel in comparison to previous years.

Data from the NamPol traffic division provided yesterday show that of the total of 79 432 drivers screened by traffic officers between 18 November and 5 January, 1 299 men and 145 women tested positive for alcohol.

However, as not all were over the legal limit, the total drunken-driving arrests amounted to 236.

Moreover, traffic officers suspended the licences of 501 vehicles and issued 777 warning notices.

Between 18 November and 5 January, officers issued 10 724 fines for traffic violations, valued at more than N$11.4 million, NamPol confirmed yesterday.

Horst Heimstadt of the Private Sector Road Safety Forum (PSRSF) agreed that driver attitudes are changing for the better as they recognise their “actions are part of the problem.”

Still, Heimstadt warned that despite the positive statistical trends, limited resources present a crucial hurdle.

“It’s simply not enough. If we want to be really effective, we need much more funding.”

Numbers

The MVA Fund said both the Khomas and Otjozondjupa regions experienced a close to 20% decline in crashes.

Moreover, a “major decline” of 66% and 31% in reported injuries were observed in the Kavango East and Otjozondjupa regions respectively, while a 23% decline in injuries was seen in the Khomas Region.

The road death toll in the Omusati, Zambezi and Erongo regions saw a notable decline this season.

An 89% decline in deaths, from nine last year to one death this year, was observed in the Omusati Region, while a 57% decline in fatalities, from seven to three this year, was recorded in the Zambezi Region.

In the Erongo Region, Namibia’s holiday hotspot, the death toll declined by half, from six last year to three this festive season.

The highest number of accident fatalities was recorded in the Otjozondjupa Region, where 19 people lost their lives, compared to 10 people last year.

None of the other regions reported a death toll higher than nine this season.

Roll-overs (93), crashes involving pedestrians (92) and collisions (89) accounted for the majority of the 367 crashes this festive season.

Fourteen cyclists were involved in car accidents, and 12 persons jumped or fell from moving vehicles.