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Home / Motorists returning from holiday urged to drive safely
Motorists returning from holiday urged to drive safely
2014-01-07Mathias Haufiku RUNDU - With the end of the festive season many motorists will be flooding the roads on their way home, and this has prompted traffic authorities to urge all motorists to remain vigilant and disciplined on the public roads. “Let us start the year on a happy note, we do not want to be mourning our loved ones because of road accidents,” said Police Inspector-General, Lieutenant-General Sebastian Ndeitunga, who urged motorists to be careful when driving “so that they arrive alive”. Statistics released yesterday by the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund indicate that between November 22 2013 and January 5 2014, 382 road crashes were recorded in which 85 people died while 809 sustained injuries. During the same period between November 22 2012 and January 5 2013, 471 crashes were recorded in which 83 people lost their lives while 1 008 sustained injuries. Despite the horrific road crash in the Omusati Region in which seven people lost their lives and the one in Kavango Region where four people died, motorists in general have abided by the laws of the road by driving prudently and carefully, said Ndeitunga. “I am appealing to those going home to be considerate and I am urging the public to report any incidents on the roads,” Ndeitunga said. Asked how the breathalyzer ban impacted police operations, Ndeitunga said: “Obviously it affected our operations because we were using it to do our work.” “Now we are forced to take people whom we suspect to be driving under the influence of alcohol to the hospital, and in some cases hospitals are very far,” said Ndeitunga. Ndeitunga said working without breathalyzers is rather “cumbersome” and very inconvenient. “The devices were not only used at road accidents, but also during our random operations,” he said. By Mathias Haufiku 2014-01-07Mathias Haufiku
