Nabta trains almost 500 taxi, bus drivers

The Namibia Bus and Taxi Association (Nabta) has introduced defensive driving and first aid training courses for all bus and taxi drivers in the country.

Nabta secretary-general Pendapala Nakathingo said the association has trained close to 500 taxi and bus drivers so far.

“We have taken this training to various regions because we want to make sure that bus and taxi drivers become road safety ambassadors in preventing road accidents,” he said in a telephonic interview with Namibian Sun.

He added that bus and taxi drivers are usually first on the scene of an accident and this training will enable them to render first aid to victims.

“People have lost their lives on our national roads as a result of not effectively attending to the victims because sometimes the ambulance is far and people are not trained to handle road accident victims.”

Advantage

Nakathingo said the association aims to have 1 000 drivers trained by the end of this year.

Extending his gratitude to Vivo Energy Namibia for sponsoring the initiative, he called on stakeholders to come on board to support the training by providing necessary equipment and resources.

“Taxi and bus drivers must ensure that they attend this training when they are aware of where it will take place in their respective areas,” he said.

“This training is an advantage to taxi drivers as most of them are not academically qualified. It will enable them to also secure employment elsewhere,” Nakathingo added.

He further urged taxi and bus drivers to drive cautiously and to abide by the rules of the road.

The association “will not sleep” until public transport is fully safeguarded, he emphasised.

“We are doing this to improve the public transport sector, prevent road accidents and save lives in Namibia.”