Too few buckle up
The apparent ignorance of Namibian drivers and passengers to the safety of seatbelt use has authorities concerned, due to the loss of life.
Statistics released for the first time indicate a worrying trend of declining seatbelt usage.
Of particular concern are parents who do not use booster seats or child restraints when driving with young children, putting their lives at risk.
A joint press conference was held by the City Police, Namibian Police, University of Namibia and Cardiff University in Wales to release figures from a new survey on seatbelt use in Namibia.
The survey helps to illustrate why so many people are dying on Namibian roads.
According to the City Police more than 700 people die on Namibia's roads every year, making them among the most dangerous in the world. The carnage can partly be explained by low use of seatbelts.
The police say this puts people's lives at risk, particularly those of children and passengers. Wearing a seatbelt reduces the chance of being killed in an accident by 40%.
According to the report compiled by Cardiff University's Professor Judith Hall, 1 690 cars were inspected in order to collect data on the use of seatbelts and child restraints, as well as seatbelt functionality.
Of the vehicles inspected 1 271 were private cars, 419 taxis and 226 trucks.
The cars were inspected over a four-hour period in January at multiple City Police roadblocks in Windhoek.
Of the total number of cars inspected 1 557 (92%) had functioning seatbelts while 133 (8%) had seatbelts that were not working. Three cars had non-functioning front seatbelts and 130 cars had non-functional rear seatbelts.
Of the 3 898 occupants of these cars, 1 107 (28%) were not wearing seatbelts.
The majority of those wearing seatbelts, 2 397 people (61%), were driving in private vehicles while 1 501 were in taxis.
Most people sitting in the front seats of private vehicles wore seatbelts (88%), but only 12% of passengers seated in the rear wore seatbelts. In taxis, very few passengers in the middle and rear seats wore seatbelts.
According to the report, 58 children under ten years old were counted, and only 19% were in restraints or booster seats. Only 11 children were in child restraints of some kind while 47 children were not.
Of the 58 children observed, 22% were sitting on an adult's lap.
In the 226 trucks that were inspected, 357 people were counted of whom 314 (88%) wore seatbelts. All truck occupants were seated in the front. Only one truck had a malfunctioning seatbelt.
The study was done under the Phoenix Project, a partnership between Cardiff University in Wales, UK, and the University of Namibia.
Since its launch in 2014, three data-collection surveys have been carried out by the Windhoek City Police - two in December and one in January. The latest report presents the data collected in January.
ELLANIE SMIT
Of particular concern are parents who do not use booster seats or child restraints when driving with young children, putting their lives at risk.
A joint press conference was held by the City Police, Namibian Police, University of Namibia and Cardiff University in Wales to release figures from a new survey on seatbelt use in Namibia.
The survey helps to illustrate why so many people are dying on Namibian roads.
According to the City Police more than 700 people die on Namibia's roads every year, making them among the most dangerous in the world. The carnage can partly be explained by low use of seatbelts.
The police say this puts people's lives at risk, particularly those of children and passengers. Wearing a seatbelt reduces the chance of being killed in an accident by 40%.
According to the report compiled by Cardiff University's Professor Judith Hall, 1 690 cars were inspected in order to collect data on the use of seatbelts and child restraints, as well as seatbelt functionality.
Of the vehicles inspected 1 271 were private cars, 419 taxis and 226 trucks.
The cars were inspected over a four-hour period in January at multiple City Police roadblocks in Windhoek.
Of the total number of cars inspected 1 557 (92%) had functioning seatbelts while 133 (8%) had seatbelts that were not working. Three cars had non-functioning front seatbelts and 130 cars had non-functional rear seatbelts.
Of the 3 898 occupants of these cars, 1 107 (28%) were not wearing seatbelts.
The majority of those wearing seatbelts, 2 397 people (61%), were driving in private vehicles while 1 501 were in taxis.
Most people sitting in the front seats of private vehicles wore seatbelts (88%), but only 12% of passengers seated in the rear wore seatbelts. In taxis, very few passengers in the middle and rear seats wore seatbelts.
According to the report, 58 children under ten years old were counted, and only 19% were in restraints or booster seats. Only 11 children were in child restraints of some kind while 47 children were not.
Of the 58 children observed, 22% were sitting on an adult's lap.
In the 226 trucks that were inspected, 357 people were counted of whom 314 (88%) wore seatbelts. All truck occupants were seated in the front. Only one truck had a malfunctioning seatbelt.
The study was done under the Phoenix Project, a partnership between Cardiff University in Wales, UK, and the University of Namibia.
Since its launch in 2014, three data-collection surveys have been carried out by the Windhoek City Police - two in December and one in January. The latest report presents the data collected in January.
ELLANIE SMIT
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