Buckle-Up for operation President�s holidays
Pini Bothoko | Monday July 13, 2015 15:34
Police will be deploying the ‘Buckle Up’ operation in a bid to prevent accidents that are prevalent during the holidays.
The operation will last for 12 days and will run from July 13 to 24 countrywide.
The policing district officer, Ditiro Mogatlaatshwene, said that over the years, most people lost their lives because they did not put on their safety belts.
Mogatlaatshwene said despite a lot of public awareness on the use and importance of putting on safety belts, a majority of people still take the advice for granted.
“People should know that not only drivers should put on their safety belts but that this also applies to passengers. Those who do not do so are putting their lives in danger,” said Mogatlaatshwene.
Mogatlaatshwene revealed that those who will be found not putting on seat belts would be fined P500, drivers and passengers alike. Early this year, Francistown traffic officers held a two-day operation titled, ‘Francistown Blue’ focusing on public transport.
During the operation 49 passengers were arrested for not putting on their safety belts. Mogatlaatshwene also warned parents to avoid transporting children under the age of five years without putting them on child-restraining seats.
“Not doing this is against the law and puts the lives of the children in danger. Children should be put on their car seats to avoid unnecessary deaths. Those who would be found disobeying this law will be charged P500,” said Mogatlaatshwene. He said this is mostly common amongst drivers who transport school children.
Mogatlaatshwene made a clarion call to such drivers to provide their customers with those car seats. He said police would be mounting permanent roadblocks, high way patrols and speed traps in an endeavour to bolster the operation and save lives.
He pleaded with drivers to help the police to convey the message of seat belts to passengers in order to reduce fatalities when accidents occur.
In addition, Mogatlaatshwene called on members of the public to take full responsibility of their lives adding that a lot of people have lost theirs due to failure to obey traffic rules and regulations.
Mogatlaatshwene also warned drivers to avoid drinking and driving over the holidays saying that driving under the influence of alcohol has proven to be one of the major causes of road carnages.
He advised passengers to carefully judge the condition of drivers before boarding cars. “I plead you to report anybody you see violating any traffic law. This will go a long way in saving people’s lives,” said Mogatlaatshwene.