27 Jul 2016

Acting Police Commissioner, Mr Committee Tlalenyane has expressed concern over immoral acts on roads during a road safety stakeholders meeting in Gaborone.

 Addressing the stakeholders, he said the meeting was meant to come up with intervention measures with a view to reduce fatal road accidents through collaborative efforts.

  He said statistics show that the A1 road was leading in both fatal crashes and fatalities. He noted that in 2016 road accidents have increased and that from January to July, there have been fatal crashes that claimed 259 lives unlike in 2015 where fatal crashes were 178 claiming 219 lives.

 Mr Tlalenyane revelled that most affected road users were passengers, followed by drivers and pedestrians.

    He also noted that the youth were the most affected in accidents, and that most collisions occur over the weekend and month ends.  Moreover, Mr Tlalenyane said the Botswana Police Service plans to conduct month end operations as a way of trying to reduce the number of accidents occurring on the A1 road.

   “A three pronged approach was adopted to conduct month end operations from July to December 2016 in Gaborone and along the A1 road from Gaborone to Lechana. The first operation will be from 29-31 July under the theme: Accident free A1, act now. 

  He said operations would include enforcement where roadblocks would be erected in Mmamashia, Dibete, Morale and Lechana.

   He also said there would be a Gaborone internal enforcement targeting failure to use rear passenger seat belts and child restraints, drinking and driving and distracted driving such as the use of cellular phones while driving.

    In addition, he said engineering aspects would also be conducted by improving road signage, especially at schools, installing street lights and cattle chasing patrols along the targeted A1 stretch.

  He said education would be done through advertising, utilisation of the media and public education campaigns at public gatherings.

   Mr Tlalenyane urged Batswana to change their mindset and attitude in order to fight road accidents, especially on the A1 road.

“The problems we face cannot be solved at the level of thinking we were when we created them,” he said. Ends