Pedestrian fatalities on the rise
Lesedi Mkhutshwa | Wednesday May 14, 2025 06:00
Tlhagwane was speaking during the third edition of the annual MVA Fund safe mobility challenge which was held on Saturday at Francistown Old stadium.
According to MVA CEO since 2019, pedestrian fatalities grew from 21% of the annual deaths to 32%. Sharing statistics from Botswana Police Service (BPS), he elaborated that the second city lost eight pedestrians in 2024 and 17 other pedestrians’ sustained serious injuries whilst there were 83 minor injuries.
Regarding cyclist, Tlhagwane stated that they have lost one cyclist and another cyclist sustained serious injuries while one sustained minor injury in the year 2024. “In the current year 2025, we have already lost one pedestrian, four others sustained serious injuries while 17 minor injuries were recorded. One cyclist sustained minor injuries,” he added.
Additionally, he said that the statistics should be a cause for concern to all of us as these are all preventable. Speaking about the mobility challenge,Tlhagwane explained that it was not a marathon or cycling event, but a road safety activation that uses walking, running, and cycling as advocacy tools to promote road traffic safety culture and active mobility. He elaborated that the initiative was started in Mogoditshane in 2023 after realising the disturbing numbers of pedestrian fatalities in that area.
“We then held the second one in Gaborone (Game City Mall) last year. Today we are here in the City of Francistown because we have noted that the risk of pedestrian fatalities is also high in the second City,” he added. According to Tlhagwane the event is one of the MVA Fund’s initiatives to drive our strategic objective of improving road traffic safety, with specific emphasis on road user behaviour. Road safety is a broad topic which includes prevention of road traffic crashes as well as to improve post-crash care to save the lives of injured road users, he added. He highlighted that the three specific objectives include promoting safer road usage by pedestrians and cyclists.
MVA CEO added that they also want to raise awareness to motorists to acknowledge that pedestrians and cyclists are also road users and must be allowed to freely use the road with minimal risk of by knocked by vehicles. Lastly, he stated that they want to advocate for promotion of active mobility through provision of accommodative road infrastructure that adequately support walking and cycling, in line with the UN Global Plan for Road Safety 2021–2030. He indicated that to achieve these objectives, they acknowledge that road traffic safety is a shared responsibility, hence their collaboration with the Botswana Cycling Association and Fearless Fitness Club, who represent the vulnerable road users. “Awareness in this instance, refers to the ability by these road users to know the risks associated with the use of the road, and to always practice safer road user behaviours,' he continued.
'On the other hand, accommodative and supportive road infrastructure refers to the planning of land use and designing roads to accommodate walking and cycling as other modes of transport particularly in urban areas where there is mobility challenges presented by rural-urban migration,” he said.
Additionally, he said that this further means setting appropriate safer speeds on our busy streets to reduce the risk of severe injuries in case of a collision with a motor vehicle. Tlhagwane also said that an essential part of transformation is incorporating pedestrian and cycling infrastructure which reduces motor vehicle traffic congestion, promote public health through walking and exercising and reduces carbon emission resulting in cleaner and sustainable cities in line with the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.