Cleaning up �death� highway
Mmegi Editor | Tuesday September 9, 2014 10:46
In recent years, many lives have been lost at the intersection and all along the expanded Highway, including a 55-year-old man who lost a leg on impact and died after he was run over two years ago. In yet another heartrending incident this past January, two people died at the intersection and three others were seriously injured after their vehicle overturned and crashed into a boundary wall.
Known as the Molapo Crossing intersection, the black spot together with two others further west along the Molepolole Highway, popularly known as GIPS and SuperSave, having claimed dozens of lives and left scarred survivors over the years.
Few weekends pass without reports of fatal or near-fatal accidents at the Molapo Crossing, GIPS or SuperSave intersections, which is cruelly ironic since the 2008-11 expansion was designed to ease traffic flow and enhance driveability.
The 13-kilometre stretch of the Molepolole Highway between the Molapo Crossing intersection up to Metsimotlhabe was expanded by up to six lanes in response to congestion of the critical entry route. With at least three major villages in Kweneng District and all western suburbs using the 13-kilometre stretch to access Gaborone, the expansion was hailed as an example of progressive policymaking.
The subsequent development of black spots and rising fatalities appears linked to several factors conspiring to transform what should have been the jewel on the city’s crown into an anathema.
Firstly, scores of drivers have pointed out that the synchronisation of the traffic signals at the Molapo Crossing intersection lend themselves to confusion, as they are either contradictory, delayed or too quick depending on which direction one is heading.
The intersection itself is the largest and busiest in Gaborone, recording hundreds of vehicles each hour, particularly during the morning and evening rush hours. Being a large and busy intersection enhances the likelihood of an accident as those reckless drivers who attempt to “beat the light” have lower prospects of avoiding a collision and a longer distance to travel in order to do so. Whatever the intersections’ technical shortcomings, however, the ultimate responsibility for safety cannot be removed from the individual driver and the community of drivers using that stretch of the Highway.
The expansion, it appears, has fuelled higher speeds and greater risk-taking by some motorists, a fact which is worsened by the existence of several popular liquor outlets and nightspots along the route. The Motor Vehicle Accident Fund notes that speed is the direct cause of 4.5 percent of all road crashes and a secondary cause of about 39 percent of recorded crashes. We call upon drivers to respect the Highway and the rules of the road, to drive soberly giving due respect to other road users and to practice the utmost concentration and care in order to reduce the carnage.
Today’s thought
“Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?”
- George Carlin