Community Policing Officer
On average, the City of Windhoek records 40 to 60 car accidents per week. The causes of accidents range from distractions, drunk driving, speeding, reckless driving and jay-walking. Common distractions on the public
roads that lead to accidents include the use of cellphones while driving, particularly texting or applying makeup. Driving while drunk is also a huge contributing factor as it impairs the driver’s reflexes and makes them take risky decisions, leading to carnage on our roads.
However, speeding ranks highest amongst causes of accidents within the city, reckless driving such as changing of lanes without using indicators and driving through stop signs and red traffic signals also contribute to high record of road crashes. Jay-walking, whereby pedestrians cross the road at places not designated for crossing, compounds the matter of accidents further as a lot of lives continue to be lost on the roads.
The City Police Service has implemented numerous measures to help mitigate this dire situation through law–enforcement, whereby roadblocks are set up all over the city. This visibility brings a change to the behaviour of the drivers for that particular time. However, once the police are no more there, drivers go back to the same reckless behaviour. Normal patrols further play a part in helping monitor the situation and apply the letter
of the law when the need arises, but that too can be done periodically at hot spots as dictated by the statistics.
Further, the use of technology plays a part in deterring bad behaviour on the roads for the most part; in cases where we have speed traps on the road. Our Closed-circuit television (CCTV) is used to monitor intersections, especially where vehicles collide with fixed objects and drivers flee the accident scenes, meaning that tracing them is possible. Moreover, we use cameras during accidents,
to investigate the causes and assist in compilation and analysis of statistics thereof.
With the help of the public, we can achieve more in terms of addressing the situation concerning road accidents. For one, we can adhere to the provisions of the Road Traffic and Transport Act 22 of 1999, which pronounces itself on the issues of speed, reckless and negligent driving, drunk driving, speeding and other rules of the road. The public can also be our extra eyes on the roads: if the public witness dangerous behaviour on the road, it is advisable to take the registration number of that particular vehicle and call our office, so the perpetrators can always be brought to book. To report an accident or any other road safety-related matter, the City Police Service can be reached on 061 302302/2902239 or SMS to 4444.