15 die in this past weekend’s road accidents
A total of 360 died on road this year
Road accidents have claimed 357 lives since the beginning of this year, Director of Traffic Katlholo Mosimanegape has said.
This past weekend (Friday-Sunday), 15 people died in accidents, the second highest number ever recorded in a single weekend this year.
Eight (8) people died near Ghanzi village in the Kgalagadi district when two cars collided. The other seven are separate cases recorded throughout the country. The last time they recorded such a high number of road fatalities this year is in July when 16 perished along the A3 Highway at Mafhungo-Hubona village. The accident involved two public mini-buses and a Toyota Dyna, claiming 16 lives and leaving 14 survivors in critical condition. Mosimanegape is saddened that the Gantsi incident was recorded a month into their 60 days of Action on Crime and Road Safety programme which launched on the 1st November in Bobonong. When launching the programme, several stakeholders in crime fighting and advocacy for road safety such as Motor Vehicle Accident
Fund (MVA), Department of Road Transport and Safety (DRTS) and private agencies such as Bus Operators, were present and all agreed that they will do all they can to reduce road fatalities this year. “There are several activities that we are doing, including public education in the form of mall activations happening countrywide. We are also speaking to drivers on the road especially during weekends. “The majority of accidents can be avoided, safety begins with a driver,” Mosimanegape said, noting further that some drivers unnecessarily over-speed just to show off performance of their cars but fail to control their cars when the unexpected happen on the road. Mosimanegape said their main objective is to ensure that people are safe in their homes, on the road and their respective localities. “As Christmas festivities fast approach, people should look out for suspicious individuals, have clusters when travelling. The police are on the road to eliminate things that lead to accidents. We will be carrying on with operations,” Mosimanegape said.