24 May 2021

The Department of Road Transport and Safety in Maun is battling with cases of careless driving which has resulted in the suspension of some motorists’ licenses.

The department’s transport officer, Mr Lentswe Tshikantwa said failure to obey road signs by motorists was one of the challenges the department was faced with.

He added that such offences resulted in about 30 licenses being suspended monthly.

Mr Tshikantwa, who was speaking in an interview at the end of the Decade of Action launch in Maun on recently said other road offences included speeding, drunk driving and driving without licenses.

“Most accidents occur on internal roads in Maun compared to the outskirts and the reasons are speeding and failure to obey road signs,” he said.

Mr Tshikantwa said the Decade for Action would run until 2030 and targeted schools and busy areas since some accidents happened at pedestrian crossings.

He said there were cases in Maun whereby school children lost their lives after being hit by vehicles at a pedestrian crossings, a sign that motorists failed to observe speed limit when approaching pedestrian crossings.

He said road accidents that occurred around schools and busy areas were a global issue and as such the United Nations came up with a 30km/h road sign to be introduced near schools, for motorists to reduce speed and road accidents by 50 per cent by 2030.

Mr Tshikantwa said the launch sought to sensitise school children on how to cross the road and would be rolled out to other road users before the 30km/h road sign was introduced.

Sub Inspector Tshiamo Sejakgomo of Maun Police said motorists would be made aware of the 30km/h road sign before it came into effect.

He said road accidents that occurred at pedestrian crossings did not only involve children but the elderly as well. Ends