Windhoek, Sept 1 – – The MVA Fund in collaboration with the National Road Safety Council, Roads Authority, NAMPOL, City Police Traffic and the Namibia Road Safety Forum launched a week-long road safety campaign in Windhoek last Friday on 30th August, which will run until this week Friday.
The campaign aims to reduce road crashes in the Khomas region by increasing visibility of law enforcement during peak hours, as well as engaging and educating road users on their road behaviour to yield positive changes on roads in the region.
The campaign is propelled by two undeniable facts; thelocation of most crashes in Namibia, and major cause of crashes on the road.
Year-to-date crash statistics indicate that Khomas region has the highest count of national crashes at 36% (716), injuries at 31% (1098) and fatalities at 11% (29). Collisionsaccounted for the highest number of crashes type at (309)followed by pedestrian-related crashes at (271).
In addition, research commissioned by the Fund into the causes of crashes in the six high crash regions in the country found that 72% of crashes are related to human factors while 25% are related to road and environmental causes and 3% are vehicle related. This insight suggests that 72% of crashes are avoidable if road user behaviour is corrected.
Speaking at the Week-long Road Safety CampaignLaunch on Friday, both public enterprises and civil society organizations took to the stage and emphasized the need for partnerships among road safety stakeholders to drive change by working seamlessly together. This meant increasing efforts to include youth involvement in all activities.
Road users are urged to adhere to road traffic rules and to report crashes to the MVA Fund’s Toll-Free Accident Response Number 9682, as doing so can save a life. The Fund further advises the public to download the MVA Fund mobile App which allows users to report crashes with precise location, query their claim status and access all MVA Fund related information and so much more.
African Youth Newspaper
