Alcohol-Related Crashes Cause Concern
Pini Bothoko | Tuesday November 2, 2021 06:00
For a while the police have battled alcohol-related accidents even when the sale of alcohol was suspended. Drivers’ attitudes and behaviours have been identified as the main causes of road fatalities, especially the youth. Mogoditshane police station commander, superintendent Russ Letsebe said they have established that drunken driving contributes to the high incidences of car crashes. Letsebe called for sober driving, pointing out that alcohol affects drivers in many aspects including their attitude, judgment, vigilance, and reaction time to mention but a few.
He said at the moment, his office is investigating five serious accidents that occurred over the weekend and almost all of them were alcohol-related. He stated that in all of the accidents of which some were head-on collisions, drivers and passengers sustained serious injuries that left some hospitalised. Letsebe further attributed most of the alcohol-related accidents to speeding and drivers failing to observe road signs.
He expressed a worry that most of the fatal accidents in Gabane and Mogoditshane took place in the middle of the village where motorists should be driving at a maximum speed of 60km/h. He stated that the majority of drivers speed because it is their habit and it is even riskier when under the influence of alcohol. “Most of these accidents usually occur on weekends, early in the morning at around 3am and 4am when intoxicated motorists drive up and down between drinking holes. Such attitudes that drivers continue to display increase their exposure to road accidents and casualty rates.
Speeding increases the chance of a collision resulting in injuries or death,” he said. On a different case, Letsebe said the police are investigating an incident in which two men and a woman hijacked a combi in Ledumadumane after pretending to be hitch-hikers. They proceeded to stab the driver with a knife before they drove off.
Letsebe said the incident occurred at around 4am and they are still looking for the combi while the victim was treated at Nkoyaphiri Clinic after he was stabbed twice on the right thigh and his back. “The suspects who are still at large allegedly pounced on and stabbed the driver throwing him outside the combi then driving off. We are yet to establish if the combi is registered for public transport and if the said driver was on duty or not,” he said.