A total of 36 people sustained serious injuries in the 205 road accidents reported during the holidays. Last year during the same period 39 people sustained serious injuries in 201 accidents recorded. According to a media release from Botswana Police Public Relations Unit, 537 motorists were tested for drunken driving and 124 were found to be above the required alcohol limit, compared to the 320 tested last year which resulted in 102 testing above the limit. A total of 1,164 motorists were also charged for over-speeding, compared to 1,313 charged last year.
Meanwhile, some members of the public still take the risk of driving without a drivers license. A total of 462 individuals were charged with driving without a license, a high figure in comparison to last year's 353. Furthermore, 148 were charged with careless driving, compared to the 95 charged last year. In one accident that occurred on March 29 two people died when a bus they were travelling in veered off the road and plunged into an animal control fence, near Mmashoro along the Serowe/Orapa road. The bus which was headed to Maun from Gaborone, had 77 passengers on board. Investigations into the cause of the accident are continuing. The officer commanding Number Two police district, senior superintendent Boikhutso Dintwa told Mmegi that another death was reported along the A1 road near Mahalapye, after two vehicles collided. Police also recorded four murder cases, compared to two reported last year, and 28 rape cases compared to 40 cases last year. Thirty-two house break-ins and theft cases were reported compared to 59 last year and nine robbery cases, compared to 41 last years.
