Road users more mature
JANA-MARI SMITH
Road-safety advocates agree that the festive season coming to an end this week has seen a drastic improvement in road user behaviour, with fewer accidents and fatalities reported than previous seasons and a 30% reduction overall in fatalities for 2018.
Preliminary crash statistics from the road-safety campaign between 25 November and 3 January show a 29% reduction in fatalities, 18% reduction in injuries and a 14% reduction in accidents.
In total, 385 crashes caused 665 injuries and 74 fatalities, Namibian Sun was informed, though these numbers could change as additional information flows in until the official end of the festive season.
In comparison, the accident statistics for 28 November 2017 to 18 January 2018 showed a total of 528 crashes, 965 injuries and 127 fatalities over the festive season, though those numbers were also significantly lower than the previous festive season.
“This year we saw more maturity from holidaymakers on the road. They were more responsible and safety conscious,” Aubrey Oosthuizen, the West Coast Safety Initiative's co-ordinator, told Namibian Sun.
Horst Heimstadt of the Private Sector Road Safety Forum (PSRSF) agreed, noting that “comparing the behaviour to previous years we are very happy to report a drastic improvement in the behaviour of road users”.
He added that the preliminary results do indicate a slight increase in average monthly fatalities, from 1.4 to 1.8 fatalities per day, but the overall 29% reduction is a noteworthy achievement.
Highest in Africa
He added that it is estimated that 2018 has seen a total 30% reduction in the road death toll, with unofficial indicators showing the total number of fatalities was around 556 for 2018.
The steep decrease in fatalities could be the highest in Africa, according to preliminary research, he said.
Heimstadt said while lack of funding hampers exact evaluations to determine which initiatives can be linked to better road behaviour, it is clear “that the general behaviour of road users has changed and we hope it will continue to change even more”.
As a participant in the Decade of Action for Road Safety, which concludes in 2020, Heimstadt said it is possible that annual road fatalities, which in 2011 were 492, could be halved by 2020.
“If we remain at a 30% reduction per year with an estimated death toll of 556 for 2018, we should reach 272 fatalities in the year 2020.”
He said this would require commitment from all parties, including road users and authorities.
Bad apples remain
Both Heimstadt and Oosthuizen said despite improved road behaviour, erratic and irresponsible drivers continued to put the lives of others at risk.
“Unfortunately we still have a minority of road users who believe it is their right to speed, overtake on blind spots and drive under the influence of alcohol,” Heimstadt warned.
Heimstadt said roll-overs, the number-one cause of the crashes, are attributed mainly to speeding and to faulty tyres.
He said driving under the influence has reduced in the central and western regions of Namibia, but remains “a major problem” in the northern regions of Namibia.
Oosthuizen concurred that the improved behaviour of motorists did not exclude several incidents of reckless driving, but underlined that compared to previous years; drunken driving and other incidents were “definitely less”.
Several factors contributed to better safety and fewer accidents, he said, including better planning by motorists, and several road-safety initiatives by authorities.
“From our side, it was definitely a quieter season, although there were a lot of people here. People planned better, and there were a lot of special operations ongoing between the regions that brought the message across that we won’t allow you to do what you want on the roads.”
He added that the rush to and from the coast was more spread out this season, with people leaving on different days.
Nevertheless, while many observers pointed out the coast was quieter this year, Oosthuizen said the statistics prove otherwise.
The West Coast Safety Initiative annually hands out safety awareness packs to arriving motorists – never to locals from Swakopmund and Walvis Bay – and on one day in December handed out a total of 4 500 packs in one day to new arrivals at the coast.
Road-safety advocates agree that the festive season coming to an end this week has seen a drastic improvement in road user behaviour, with fewer accidents and fatalities reported than previous seasons and a 30% reduction overall in fatalities for 2018.
Preliminary crash statistics from the road-safety campaign between 25 November and 3 January show a 29% reduction in fatalities, 18% reduction in injuries and a 14% reduction in accidents.
In total, 385 crashes caused 665 injuries and 74 fatalities, Namibian Sun was informed, though these numbers could change as additional information flows in until the official end of the festive season.
In comparison, the accident statistics for 28 November 2017 to 18 January 2018 showed a total of 528 crashes, 965 injuries and 127 fatalities over the festive season, though those numbers were also significantly lower than the previous festive season.
“This year we saw more maturity from holidaymakers on the road. They were more responsible and safety conscious,” Aubrey Oosthuizen, the West Coast Safety Initiative's co-ordinator, told Namibian Sun.
Horst Heimstadt of the Private Sector Road Safety Forum (PSRSF) agreed, noting that “comparing the behaviour to previous years we are very happy to report a drastic improvement in the behaviour of road users”.
He added that the preliminary results do indicate a slight increase in average monthly fatalities, from 1.4 to 1.8 fatalities per day, but the overall 29% reduction is a noteworthy achievement.
Highest in Africa
He added that it is estimated that 2018 has seen a total 30% reduction in the road death toll, with unofficial indicators showing the total number of fatalities was around 556 for 2018.
The steep decrease in fatalities could be the highest in Africa, according to preliminary research, he said.
Heimstadt said while lack of funding hampers exact evaluations to determine which initiatives can be linked to better road behaviour, it is clear “that the general behaviour of road users has changed and we hope it will continue to change even more”.
As a participant in the Decade of Action for Road Safety, which concludes in 2020, Heimstadt said it is possible that annual road fatalities, which in 2011 were 492, could be halved by 2020.
“If we remain at a 30% reduction per year with an estimated death toll of 556 for 2018, we should reach 272 fatalities in the year 2020.”
He said this would require commitment from all parties, including road users and authorities.
Bad apples remain
Both Heimstadt and Oosthuizen said despite improved road behaviour, erratic and irresponsible drivers continued to put the lives of others at risk.
“Unfortunately we still have a minority of road users who believe it is their right to speed, overtake on blind spots and drive under the influence of alcohol,” Heimstadt warned.
Heimstadt said roll-overs, the number-one cause of the crashes, are attributed mainly to speeding and to faulty tyres.
He said driving under the influence has reduced in the central and western regions of Namibia, but remains “a major problem” in the northern regions of Namibia.
Oosthuizen concurred that the improved behaviour of motorists did not exclude several incidents of reckless driving, but underlined that compared to previous years; drunken driving and other incidents were “definitely less”.
Several factors contributed to better safety and fewer accidents, he said, including better planning by motorists, and several road-safety initiatives by authorities.
“From our side, it was definitely a quieter season, although there were a lot of people here. People planned better, and there were a lot of special operations ongoing between the regions that brought the message across that we won’t allow you to do what you want on the roads.”
He added that the rush to and from the coast was more spread out this season, with people leaving on different days.
Nevertheless, while many observers pointed out the coast was quieter this year, Oosthuizen said the statistics prove otherwise.
The West Coast Safety Initiative annually hands out safety awareness packs to arriving motorists – never to locals from Swakopmund and Walvis Bay – and on one day in December handed out a total of 4 500 packs in one day to new arrivals at the coast.
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