KEETMANSHOOP – The //Kharas Police have commenced road safety operations for the festive season at the major road traffic checkpoints of the B1 and B2 roads.
Regional commander, Commissioner Marius Katamila said national roads remain darkened by the occurrence of tragic road accidents which tend to increase during this period.
“This, therefore, calls for the critical need to deploy traffic law-enforcement members, and the continuous collaboration with all stakeholders to ensure that we reach our decade of action goals of reducing fatalities to 50% by 2030,” said Katamila last week during the launch of the region’s festive season road safety campaign.
He said the purpose of the campaign is to prevent road traffic crashes, enhance road safety, increase the visibility of law enforcement on all roads, enhance robust law enforcement, and promote compliance with legal frameworks on the B1 and B2 roads.
“Our collective hope is that this campaign will reach and have an impact on a number of road users, and educate them on road safety as well as other benefits offered by different stakeholders during the execution of this important undertaking,” he noted.
According to Katamila, their aim during this campaign is to curb incidents of drunk driving, speeding, reckless and negligent driving, and ensure that drivers and their vehicles are fit to be on national roads.
Whilst comparing the current festive campaign’s statistics with that of the previous year, the commissioner said there is a reduction across all three categories – fatalities, crashes, and serious injuries for the first time in the country’s history.
“Road crashes reduced with 14.4%, resultant injuries reduced with 17.5%, whilst fatalities reduced by 42.2%,” he stated.
According to him, related incidences recorded between 1 January 2023 and 12 November 2023 show there were 2 553 crashes, 4 508 injuries, and 357 fatalities.
“In comparison with the same period last year, a decrease of 4% in crashes was observed, with 2 658 cases; injuries also decreased by 1%, having recorded 4 471 cases; whereas fatalities increased by 9%, having recorded 392 cases,” explained Katamila.
He added: “We are, therefore, pleading to all stakeholders, including drivers, passengers, pedestrians and the road safety fraternity at large to work together to bring about the success of this festive season campaign.”
– sklukowski@nepc.com.na