12 Sep 2019

 There is need to continuously converse with youth to be responsible drivers, passengers and pedestrians, Police northern divisional commander, Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police (SACP), Ms Cynthia Setilo has said.

Speaking at the launch of the Police district No 7 Youth Drivers Outreach Road Safety Programme in Kasane on September 11 SACP Setilo said the youth needed to account for their lives and that of others. 

She said statistics indicated that young people aged 18-40 years were the most involved in accidents that resulted in serious injuries and death.

She said in 2016, a total of 450 people lost their lives through road accidents country-wide, out of which 59.6 per cent were youth aged 18-40 years while in the year 2017, 55 per cent of the total deaths were young people.

SACP Setilo said in the northern division, which is made up of Francistown, Kasane and Maun and policing districts, since the beginning of this year, 61 deaths were recorded and 50 of them were the youth. 

Of the 50, she explained, 20 were drivers, 25 passengers while five were pedestrians.

She observed that crashes, where youth were involved, were mostly caused by risky behaviour such as speeding, driver distractions by the use of cell phones, dangerous overtaking, disregard of road rules, pedestrian misconduct and driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

She noted that premised on the findings of the causes of the crashes Botswana Police Service (BPS) had undertaken to run a robust road safety outreach programme targeting the youth under the theme; Cultivating Responsible Use of the Road by the Youth-Leaders of Tomorrow.

SACP Setilo explained that the theme came in the realisation of the economic losses that come as a result of road accidents and their impact on what had already been achieved.

“Road accidents are not only a public health problem but also present a challenge in terms of socio-economic wellbeing of those directly involved and their families. Socio-economic costs include hospitalisation, long term care, material damage and human capital loss for organisations and the economy at large,” she said.

She noted that the permission to drive was a huge responsibility that came with the trust and she appealed to all drivers to help the police secure the future by being responsible on the road.

She said through the Youth Drivers Outreach Road Safety Programme, BPS intended to reach out to the youth on road safety issues through workshops, organisation visitations, Kgotla meetings, campaigns to engage them in road safety-related activities.

She indicated that the police alone could not achieve the desired results without the input of other road safety stakeholders. 

“The success of this programme also largely depends on the youth’s level of participation and uptake of the various messages that will be disseminated to them in various forums,” she said.

On crime, SACP Setilo called on members of the public to pay more attention to their personal security, the security of their offices, businesses, residential places, vehicles.

She also advised members of the public to be on the lookout for suspicious characters and to avoid leaving any valuables in compromised places such as vehicles in parking areas.

Earlier in his welcome remarks, Kasane deputy court president, Kgosi Tshegofatso Samoka indicated that the youth are most affected in road accidents as they bought fast and expensive vehicles and they drank alcohol while driving.

He commended BPS for coming up with the youth drivers outreach programme as it would help in behavioural change among the youth.

A Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development official, Ms Tootini Mogopa urged inexperienced drivers to desist from emulating experienced drivers they see spinning vehicles on television.

Ms Mogopa lamented that drivers who ignored road regulation ended up killing innocent people on the roads through their reckless driving.

A road accident victim, Mr Lesedi Kamwi said he was involved in a fatal accident last year in June which claimed  one of his cousins. 

He said they were traveling from Kavimba to Kasane when their vehicle somersaulted several times killing his cousin while he  sustained serious injuries.

He said the accident occurred after they had several alcoholic drinks. He urged drivers to desist from drinking and driving. Mr Kamwi noted that after the accident he had never had the opportunity to engage in any activity of financial benefit as he spent most of his time receiving medical attention. ENDS