Cars Are Dangerous

Correspondent | Monday November 9, 2015 13:44

The message on smoking as a danger to life is widely publicised but road death remains off the radar as a serious health issue.

Why do motor manufacturers produce projectiles that vastly exceed the speed limit in most countries and maim and kill? Is this a responsible act? They know that if they do not produce performance then people will not buy them. It is supply and demand.

They build potential killers and people love it to be so. Here are some reasons for changing attitudes. “Excessive and inappropriate speed is the biggest road safety problem in many countries.

While identifying contributory factors in traffic crashes can be somewhat subjective, there are surveys and studies that suggest that as much as one-third of collisions resulting in a fatality involve an element of excess speed. Speed is an aggravating factor in all crashes.”

“The probability that a pedestrian will be killed if hit by a motor vehicle increases dramatically with speed. The research indicates that while most vulnerable (unprotected) road users (pedestrians) survive if hit by a car travelling 30 km/h, the majority are killed if hit by a car travelling at 50 km/h.”This is the fatal attraction. One day, someone will sue a manufacturer for producing a killer. Until then drivers will be active victims and pedestrians passive victims (just like passive smokers)

The Society of Road Safety Ambassadors (SORSA) is a road safety non-profit organisation that exists to stop the needless deaths and serious injuries that happen on roads every day, make streets and communities safer for everyone. SORSA promotes road safety awareness, safe and sustainable road use, and effective road safety policies. We do this through national campaigns, community and school education. We are committed to supporting the Botswana Government to improve road safety and reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on Botswana roads. 

We are compelled to write this letter because we are constrained by the unprecedented killings of road users through road crashes which to a large extent, have continued to claim innocent lives unchallenged. Without a doubt, one of the greatest challenges faced by our country is the rate of fatalities and crashes experienced on our roads. The innumerable loss of lives and people maimed on our roads are a tragedy beyond comprehension.

Maatla Otsogile

Society Of Road Safety Ambassadors

sorsa.ub@gmail.com