Mochudi Police Probe Collision Off The A1
Ten people sustained serious injuries with some fighting for their lives in different hospitals in Gaborone following a Saturday evening roadside collision of two vehicles at Morwa turn-off along the A1 Highway.
The district traffic officer, Superintendent Seabelo Gwamba said they were investigating the accident that involved a Botswana Defence Force (BDF) Kia truck and Toyota Vitz. Gwamba said the accident, which happened in the evening at around 1800hrs, left 10 people hospitalised.
“The Kia BDF truck had six people on board whilst the Toyota Vitz had four people on board who all sustained injuries and are currently hospitalised at Sidilega Private Hospital, Gaborone Private Hospital and Princess Marina Referral Hospital respectively,” he said.
Gwamba added that investigations into the matter were ongoing to establish what really transpired and might have caused the accident. He, however, said their preliminary investigations have established that the two vehicles were facing two opposite directions.
“We suspect that one of the drivers might have disobeyed the traffic signs resulting in the collision. The
Toyota Vitz driver is the one who sustained severe injuries and is currently in a critical condition whilst some of the soldiers have also sustained serious injuries,” he said.
Gwamba further raised a concern over drivers who continue to drive under the influence of alcohol, especially during month-end weekends. He said some drivers also tend to overtake at wrong places, speeding to beat the traffic lights, but only end up causing accidents when those with the ‘right-of-way’ are approaching.
“Speeding is dangerous because should a mistake happen, innocent lives would be lost. Motorists’ attitudes towards key road safety issues such as speeding, drinking and driving, and risky overtaking remain major road safety concerns as most accidents occur due to bad attitudes by motorists,” he said.
The traffic boss said they do sensitise motorists on road safety during campaigns, but people must change their bad behaviour on the roads.
Recently, the Minister of Transport and Communications, Thulaganyo Segokgo revealed that 2,139 people died in road accidents in the last five years in the 1,719 fatal accidents that were registered. The minister also pointed out that most of the accidents occurred as a result of bad attitudes from motorists.