OTJIWARONGO – Namibian highways are littered with crosses
along the main roads as remembrance of precious lives that were lost
at those specific black spots.
The Directorate of Transport in the Ministry of Works and Transport
thinks the erection of crosses is a safety concern and they should
be removed. However, the National Road Safety Council (NRSC)
says the cross acts as signage that road accidents can kill and that
Namibians need to drive with caution.
“The erection of crosses within the road reserve is strictly prohibited.
Our legislation is clear on this matter. It is, however, a sensitive
matter and we would like to handle it as such. Plans are underway to
launch an education campaign to specifically raise awareness about
this matter,” said Hileni Fillemon, Manager: Corporate Communication
of the Roads Authority.
“From the perspective of road safety, yes it helps to remind road
users of what happened on the spot. Unfortunately, in one of the road
safety assessments undertaken by the NRSC, it was recommended
that we use such messages as part of the road safety campaigns. However,
this was eventually de-motivated, as it was deemed insensitive
to use people’s misery as a campaign tool,” said Eugene Tendekule,
the Executive Secretary of NRSC.
“What is clear though is that these crosses may be considered
as a distraction to other road users and possibly further source of
road crashes. The ministry is strongly discouraging people putting
up such crosses along national roads,” said the Acting Director of
Transport and Legal advisor to the Ministry of Works and Transport,
Chris Fikunawa.
The road between Swakopmund and Walvis Bay in the Erongo
Region is the shortest in distance, but the most littered with such
crosses. In fact, that stretch of the road is a safety hazard, as drivers
do not heed to speed limits and at times overtake at dangerous places,
causing road accidents. It seems that overtaking lanes are maybe not
sufficient, as risky overtaking is a daily occurrence, justifying the
number of fatalities on that stretch of the road.
These types of crosses are not found in big numbers in the southern
part of the country, as if fatalities do not occur in the south. Namibia
has witnessed serious road accidents in the southern part, mainly
caused by trucks on the already narrow stretch of roads. However,
the erection of such crosses is mainly seen on the road between
Windhoek and Rehoboth in big numbers and thereafter it fades away
as one drives further down to the South.
As for the B1 road leading to the north from Windhoek, the crosses
are visible. As one gets closer to Oshivelo, the type of structures
change from small crosses to bigger ones in size and eventually
closer to Ondangwa, a bigger type of setup, which almost resembles
a grave is found on the road reserve.
Tomorrow is the start of the Easter holidays and Woema wishes to
remind all road users to drive within the legal speed limit and not to
overtake at prohibited places. Remember that your safety and those
around you starts with you the driver of the vehicle.