Traffic police officers, Department of Roads and Transport Safety (DRTS) officials and Botswana Motor Vehicle Accident Fund officials this week joined hands to man all the major roads coming into Gaborone.
Marketing Officer of Emergency Assist 991, Milidzani Lesifi, said that the massive traffic action is part of their efforts to put road safety first in the national agenda.
“Road accidents have implications on human capital, cost in material and finances. We must work to reduce preventable accidents,” he said.
Lesifi warned that the increasing incidents of road accidents will undermine the developmental gains that the country has made so far.
She said that failure to arrest the trend at the earliest possible opportunity will not only impact negatively on the economy, but also frustrate Botswana’s objective of meeting Africa’s target of reducing roadway deaths by 50%.
Lesifi said that road safety is not government’s responsibility alone, adding that the public must also actively participate and ensure that government’s road safety prevention strategies are successful.
For his part Cross Kgosidiile, Chief Executive Officer of the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund, said that there is inherent danger in leaving the safety of the public to the┬ádriver’s choice of speed.
He added that while enforcement efforts encourage higher levels of compliance, public attitude towards enforcement seem to be somewhat negative.
Figures released by the police indicate that as from January 1st 2010 to March 18 alone, a total of 66 fatal road crashes have been recorded with 78 lives lost in all of them.
