Deadly weekend demands immediate vigilance

The Monitor Editor | Wednesday December 10, 2025 09:55

The heartbreaking reports carried elsewhere on this publication of a woman killed in Metsimotlhabe and four family members perishing near Metsimaswaana Bridge are, devastatingly, not isolated incidents. They represent the sharp, painful tip of a weekend that has seen far too many collisions, injuries, and losses on the roads. This alarming spike in fatalities is a screaming siren we cannot ignore. It compels a direct and urgent plea to every single person using Botswana’s roads that this festive period must be a time of extreme, shared caution.

The common threads in these tragedies, as highlighted by Police, are chillingly familiar yet routinely ignored: alcohol, distraction, speed, and a fatal lapse in judgement. The pedestrian near the A12 bars is suspected to have had impaired judgement. The driver on the A1 may have lost focus for a single, catastrophic moment. With more vehicles, more social gatherings, and more fatigue on our roads, these individual risks multiply into a public safety crisis. A momentary decision to cross here instead of at the crossing, to overtake now, to check a phone is having permanent, devastating consequences.

Therefore, we call for a collective pact of responsibility. To pedestrians, your vulnerability is absolute. The convenience of a shortcut is a deadly gamble. Use zebra crossings, make yourself visible after dark, and never assume a driver has seen you. If you have been drinking, your ability to judge speed and distance is compromised. Please, arrange a lift or stay put. Do not become another statistic recorded in the early hours.

To drivers, you hold the safety of countless lives in your hands. The car is a tool of freedom, but also of immense potential destruction. The obliterated Toyota RunX is a stark monument to how quickly control can vanish. This season, driving must be your sole focus. Put away mobile phones completely. Obey speed limits as they are maximums, not targets. Increase your following distance significantly. If you feel drowsy, pull over. If you have consumed alcohol, under any circumstances, do not drive. Not one drink.

The authorities can erect signs and plead for caution, but safety is ultimately built by every individual choice. This festive season, let us honour those lost this terrible weekend by making better choices.