By Loide Jason
OSHAKATI – The Deputy Minister of Safety and Security, Erastus Uutoni, has implored police officers to stop showing off by activating sirens when not attending to an emergency.
Uutoni said sometimes police officers are not in a hurry but activate the siren of the police car for no good reason – and this is causing confusion among motorists.
“Cars that police officers use are very expensive and please colleagues let’s handle them with care. Let us avoid unnecessary speeding and let’s drive cautiously,” urged the deputy minister.
He was speaking at an awards ceremony for the police hosted by the National Driving Institute where 25 police officers from Oshana Region received a one-month training in emergency and response vehicle driving.
However, it was also recommended that police drivers need training in non-emergency operations.
Uutoni said many crashes involving emergency vehicles occur during non-emergency driving.
Also, training needs to make emergency drivers aware that driver inattention is at an all-time high.
“With motorists talking on the phones, texting and sending emails, it is not difficult to understand that emergency drivers need to be especially cautious these days,” he said.
“Drivers in emergency situations are expected to arrive at the scene safely and need to safeguard not becoming an emergency while responding to a situation. As far as the emergency crew is concerned, they must assist the driver by not creating distractions during a response,” he said.