ONGWEDIVA – Northerners using public transport between Oshakati and Windhoek are at risk of being killed in a road accident, as most of them do not wear seatbelts.
Motoring experts say that seatbelts prevent ejection during an accident.
They point out that Passengers and drivers who are thrown from a bus during an accident are four times more likely to be killed than those who remain inside the bus.
They add that unbuckled seat passengers can injure buckled passengers as well as themselves when they are thrown around or out of a bus in a crash.
Woema undertook several trips from Ongwediva to Windhoek and back to Ongwediva with a view to experience challenges bus travellers encounter on such trips.
Woema found that most of the Iveco buses that operate on the 650-kilometre route, especially between Oshakati and Windhoek, do not have seatbelts.
Only the Quantum mini-buses and luxurious larger passenger buses have seatbelts although most passengers disregard their use despite reminders from bus conductors to use seatbelts.
Passengers travelling on these buses are not squashed like those that travel on the Iveco buses.
In its research, Woema also found that some mini-buses had modified seats to accommodate more passengers, an aspect that the Ministry of Transport through the Roads Authority ought to pay attention to when testing vehicles for their annual roadworthiness.
Experts say the absence of seatbelts will aggravate the road accident situation in the country, a condition that Namibia is trying to reverse.
By Felix Tjozongoro