Road deaths escalate
Pini Bothoko | Monday April 24, 2023 06:00
Even though road fatalities occur on several roads around the country, the A1 highway remains the most affected as demonstrated by the police statistics. For years, Batswana have been advocating A1 highway to be a dual carriageway road from Gaborone to Francistown.
Many lives have been lost on the A1 even though government has in the past argued that the size of traffic using the road does not justify the cost of constructing a dual carriageway.
On Friday by Glen Valley junction a woman who was a driver of an Isuzu died on the spot following a collision with three vehicles which left four people hospitalised with very serious injuries. The following day on Saturday, two more people, a driver and a passenger also died following a collision at Palla road village with four more people seriously injured and hospitalised.
Early Sunday morning, three passengers died on the spot in a road mishap in Palapye while drivers of the two vehicles that had collided escaped death by a whisker. Moreover, the recently ended Easter holidays statistics revealed an increase in the number of fatal road accidents from three in the previous period to five.
The police also registered 7 304 traffic violations demonstrating a 9.3% increase compared to 6,682 in the same period last year. However, on a positive side, the police realised a 17. 4% decline in accidents, with 161 registered during the past holidays as compared to 195 in the same period last year.
A total of 1,436 cases of speeding were recorded during the review period compared to 1 376 registered last year and a total of 300 motorists were charged for driving whilst their alcohol content exceeded the prescribed limit, as compared to 319 who were charged during last year’ holidays.
For years, fatal accidents have been the country’s major problem and leading cause of death amongst citizens, especially the youth. Being investigators of these accidents the police have expressed deep concern over the increase in road deaths attributing most of the accidents to speeding, livestock and drivers failing to observe road signs. The police have called on motorists to drive at recommended speed limits and observe road signs at all times. Furthermore they pointed out that motorists’ attitudes are the key road safety issue such as speeding, drinking and driving, and risky overtaking, which remains a major road safety concern.
Police have on numerous occasions stated that behaviours that drivers continue to display increase their exposure to road accidents and casualty rate. They argued that it is important that people change their behaviour on roads as they continue to sensitise motorists on road safety during road campaigns.
In addition, accidents caused by stray livestock along highways across the country have been a concern as cattle are left roaming freely posing a serious threat to motorists thereby making roads unsafe. It is a very worrying situation how livestock especially cattle, donkeys and goats continue to roam the roads making it difficult for driving more especially at night.
For years police have been expressing concern at the alarming rate at which livestock continue to flock the roads and calling for drastic measures to curb the situation but the menace. However, farmers have been turning a blind eye to the growing road fatalities as livestock continues to roam the roads posing serious threat to motorists’ lives.
It is common to find a herd of cattle sleeping at night in the middle of the road posing a serious threat especially when one is driving at a high speed. Police have also in the past revealed that male motorists are prone to road crashes as compared to their female counterparts as they are more likely to engage in risky driving.
Then, they disclosed to have observed that unlike women they (men) do not pay attention to road sings and are more likely to engage in risky driving practices including not using seat belts, drunken driving and speeding. However, this remains a concern as in the process, parents, bread winners are lost and people sustain serious or permanent injuries that will cost government a lot of money to cover for their medicals that could be used to boost the country’s economy.