17 Nov 2019

Police commissioner, Mr Keabetswe Makgophe, says the organisation  has resolved to concentrate more on young drivers.

Launching 60 days of action on crime and road safety in Tonota recently, the commissioner hinted that if he had the powers, he would ask his subjects to reduce scrutiny on adult drivers and concentrate on the young ones because the latter were main trouble makers in roads.

“Young drivers are the group of drivers most likely to crash and there are a number of factors that contribute to the high crash risk experienced by these drivers,” he said.

He said adult drivers rarely got involved in road accidents because they were always careful on the road.

He explained that young drivers were more likely to crash while adult drivers were among the safest age group.

Commissioner Makgophe further stated that the police continued to implement various initiatives and programmes aimed at improving road safety.

He said it was imporatnt to target the most affected age group such as the youth and making them realise the importance of committing to road safety measures such as designating a sober driver when out for entertainment, adjusting speed to prevailing road conditions, being alert to all signs of fatigue and to avoid night driving on long distances.

Meanwhile, Tonota Sub-district Council senior assistant council secretary, Mr Onthatile Mulalu suggested the introduction of roadblocks to detect drunken drivers.

Mr Mulalu said sobriety checkpoints would be an effective way to deter cases of drunken driving, which were getting worse and continue to claim more lives.

He said such checkpoints should be frequent especially during festive seasons other than normal roadblocks meant to ensure roadworthiness of vehicles.

“There are better and cheaper ways to catch drunk drivers during the holidays,” he added.

Mr Mulalu also commended Botswana Police Service’s KgomoKhumo Operation, which he said, was making positive strides in the fight against stock theft.

He said many cattle rustlers had been arrested since the introduction of the operation.

“The exercise is proving to be successful as demonstrated by the number of arrests made and confiscation of stolen livestock and livestock proceeds since its inception,” he added

He appealed to government to avail resources, but stated that such could only be of good use with input from the community. Ends