Traffic laws under fire

As road deaths in Namibia continue to increase almost daily, a global report has identified several deficiencies in the country's arsenal to combat this scourge. Namibia's laws on drunk-driving and speeding are too lenient, and child restraints are not required in cars.According to the Global Status Report on Road Safety 2018, compiled by the World Health Organisation (WHO), 30.4 people per 100 000 are killed on Namibia's roads. The report, which analyses the latest statistics for road accidents and deaths from more than 170 countries, says by 2016 global deaths in road accidents had increased to 1.35 million a year, which means nearly 3 700 people die on the world's roads every day.In Namibia, crash fatalities in 2016 stood at 731, while the WHO estimates the figure to be at least 754. The data shows that Namibia has the eighth highest road death rate in the world. The country with the highest recorded road death rate is Liberia, at 35.9 people per 100 000. In neighbouring South Africa, 25.9 people per 100 000 die in road accidents. The report states that Namibia's regulations on speeding leave much to be desired.According to the report, a speed limit of no more than 50 km/h should be set in urban areas and the law should allow local authorities to modify national speed limits.“In urban areas there is an increased risk of high-speed traffic mixing with pedestrians and cyclists. Urban speed limits should not exceed 50 km/h.“Local authorities should also be given the (legislative) ability to further bring down speeds using a variety of measures adapted to local conditions, for example, reducing limits in residential areas to 30 km/h and installing speed bumps,” the report states. It also says that Namibia's law governing drinking and driving is not up to scratch. About 4% of road traffic deaths in Namibia involve alcohol. According to the report a good drunk-driving law is based on a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level of no more than 0.05 g/dl (grams per decilitre) for the general population and no more than 0.02 g/dl for young or novice drivers.In Namibia the maximum BAC is 0.079 g/dl for all drivers.“The risk of driving behaviour being impaired by alcohol starts at very low levels of alcohol consumption and begins to rise exponentially as more alcohol is consumed, particularly over a BAC level of over 0.05 g/dl,” says the report. It adds that young and novice drivers are at increased risk of causing a crash when under the influence of alcohol compared to older and more experienced drivers.The report also points out that Namibian law does not require children to be restrained in cars.The report says a good law requires children under the age of 10 to be strapped into a child seat, sets standards for child restraints and restricts children under a certain age or height from sitting in the front seat.ELLANIE SMIT

Traffic laws under fire

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Namibian Sun 2026-06-19

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Traffic laws under fire

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Namibian Sun 2026-06-19

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