Ndeitunga slams road carnage
Following another bloody weekend on Namibia’s roads, Lieutenant-General Sebastian Ndeitunga has expressed his horror and frustration at the reckless behaviour seen on our roads.
Reckless and negligent drivers responsible for killing thousands of Namibians on the roads and those posing a daily threat to others with their bad driver attitudes and refusal to adhere to traffic rules, were severely condemned by the country’s police chief over the weekend, following a number of horror crashes and the recent death of an officer at a traffic roadblock.
“Road carnage is costing the nation too much, and all of us as road users need to bring our part to curb it. None of us are as safe as we think,” Lieutenant-General Sebastian Ndeitunga of the Namibian police warned on Sunday.
The Inspector-General said he is “particularly perturbed by the recent road carnage in which a number of innocent lives were lost, including those of police officers who are hard at work to prevent road deaths.”
The Namibian police confirmed yesterday that between January and 25 June 1 863 crashes have taken place, resulting in 2 947 injuries and 345 fatalities.
In August 2016, Namibian Sun reported that since 2009, more than 4 500 people have died on Namibian roads, in large part due to negligent or reckless drivers.
Statistics by the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund at the time showed that on average 600 to 700 people die on Namibian roads annually.
This weekend, Ndeitunga pleaded with Namibians to stick to traffic rules and urged police officers to “rededicate and redouble their efforts in making sure that our roads are safe and lives are not lost through reckless, negligent and drunk driving.”
He instructed the police to make sure “these reckless people who are a danger on our national roads are properly charged. We must see to it that when found to be on the wrong side of the law, they are punished.”
Ndeitunga added that following the recent death of Sergeant Aina Magano Iileka at the Oshiko roadblock, the fourth reported death of a police officer at a roadblock since 2011, he has recommended that measures are put in place to protect police officers from negligent drivers.
One of those measures he said will be to erect speed humps at all permanent checkpoints to ensure motorists reduce their speeds when approaching.
Ndeitunga said he is deeply concerned, and is sure many in the country are, about the high rate of deaths on Namibian roads “because of attitudes to safety and despite tremendous efforts” made by authorities to educate road users and warn them to drive safely.
He said drunk and reckless drivers are one of the main culprits when it comes to traffic accidents, and urged police to “pay particular” attention to such drivers.
Moreover, he appealed to the public in general to “change their attitudes and cherish life at all times”.
The police chief said the carnage on the road continues despite road safety campaigns and “it appears as if all the well-intended efforts are falling on deaf ears. One life, be it a police officer or a road user, is one life too many.”
Ndeitunga appealed to Namibians to exercise “extreme caution and consideration when on the road and when approaching the police checkpoints and any other roadblock for that matter.”
Since 2011, four police officers have died and four drivers charged for reckless driving, culpable homicide and murder.
JANA-MARI SMITH
“Road carnage is costing the nation too much, and all of us as road users need to bring our part to curb it. None of us are as safe as we think,” Lieutenant-General Sebastian Ndeitunga of the Namibian police warned on Sunday.
The Inspector-General said he is “particularly perturbed by the recent road carnage in which a number of innocent lives were lost, including those of police officers who are hard at work to prevent road deaths.”
The Namibian police confirmed yesterday that between January and 25 June 1 863 crashes have taken place, resulting in 2 947 injuries and 345 fatalities.
In August 2016, Namibian Sun reported that since 2009, more than 4 500 people have died on Namibian roads, in large part due to negligent or reckless drivers.
Statistics by the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund at the time showed that on average 600 to 700 people die on Namibian roads annually.
This weekend, Ndeitunga pleaded with Namibians to stick to traffic rules and urged police officers to “rededicate and redouble their efforts in making sure that our roads are safe and lives are not lost through reckless, negligent and drunk driving.”
He instructed the police to make sure “these reckless people who are a danger on our national roads are properly charged. We must see to it that when found to be on the wrong side of the law, they are punished.”
Ndeitunga added that following the recent death of Sergeant Aina Magano Iileka at the Oshiko roadblock, the fourth reported death of a police officer at a roadblock since 2011, he has recommended that measures are put in place to protect police officers from negligent drivers.
One of those measures he said will be to erect speed humps at all permanent checkpoints to ensure motorists reduce their speeds when approaching.
Ndeitunga said he is deeply concerned, and is sure many in the country are, about the high rate of deaths on Namibian roads “because of attitudes to safety and despite tremendous efforts” made by authorities to educate road users and warn them to drive safely.
He said drunk and reckless drivers are one of the main culprits when it comes to traffic accidents, and urged police to “pay particular” attention to such drivers.
Moreover, he appealed to the public in general to “change their attitudes and cherish life at all times”.
The police chief said the carnage on the road continues despite road safety campaigns and “it appears as if all the well-intended efforts are falling on deaf ears. One life, be it a police officer or a road user, is one life too many.”
Ndeitunga appealed to Namibians to exercise “extreme caution and consideration when on the road and when approaching the police checkpoints and any other roadblock for that matter.”
Since 2011, four police officers have died and four drivers charged for reckless driving, culpable homicide and murder.
JANA-MARI SMITH
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