18 Apr 2018

Motor Vehicle Accident (MVA) Fund manager in Maun, Mr Cecil Mosojane has urged taxi drivers to exercise caution in roads to strive for safe journeys. 

He made the remarks during a Taxi Fun Day organised by MVA Fund in collaboration with North West Tertiary Education Programme, which is aimed at imparting road safety messages through sports such as football and snooker. 

He implored them to be responsible road users, by obeying road signs and rules and in the process drive responsibly and defensively to minimise road accidents. 

He raised a concern about the escalating numbers of road traffic accidents caused by some taxi drivers in Maun, citing 27 police recorded accidents since the beginning of the year up to March, a scary number he said could reach an average of 108 per year. 

He informed the gathering that some drivers of certain car brands; Honda Fit were involved in 13 accidents, followed by Corolla with eight while the rest involved Runx, March and Mazda Demeo models. 

The event, which was sponsored by MVA Fund, attracted taxi drivers and other key stakeholders such as Police and Road Safety committee. 

Drivers were categorised according to their car brands to compete against one another in the two sport codes while at the same time being sensitised on safety rules and services offered by MVA Fund. 

Mr Mosojane explained that as a road safety measure to deter reckless conduct of some drivers, MVA Fund had the right to recoup all the monies paid to claimants from whoever caused the accident and failure to pay back the costs, the driver could be jailed, hence the need for drivers to do their best to drive responsibly and defensively. 

Sub-Inspector Tshiamo Sejakgomo said misconduct of some of the vehicle brand drivers was the main cause of road traffic accidents, citing behaviours such as drunken driving, speeding and reckless driving. 

He said it was unfortunate that most of the time lives were lost while some people sustained serious injuries, adding that road accidents also impacted on personal and ultimately the national economy. ENDS