27 Oct 2013

Tati Town Customary Court president, Kgosi Ludo Mosojane, has encouraged the youth to take road safety seriously because it has the potential of impacting the economic growth.

Speaking at a two-day road safety youth convention in Francistown, Kgosi Mosojane said road accidents fatalities did not only affect the economically active members of the society but also had potential of chasing away investors. She said the responsibility of combating road accidents needed a multi-sectoral approach because government alone would not win the battle.

Another speaker, Kgosi Paul Motshwane of Gerald Estate encouraged the youth to cooperate and support the Department of Road Transport and Safety in combating road carnage. He said young drivers were at the highest risk of fatal road accidents because of lack of experience.

Kgosi Motshwane explained that beginner drivers of youth ages lacked driving skills and experience in recognising and anticipating potential danger that could expose them to casualty risk. He further said peer pressure could mean that young people were more likely to behave in a risky manner on the road, both as novice drivers, pedestrians and passengers.

“Young males are at risk because they take more risks as they are likely to drive at excessive speed and are less likely to use seat belts,” he said. Kgosi Motshwane said some of the factors that contributed to road accidents were the use of alcohol and defects in the roads such as potholes and lack of road shoulders.

He said in the year 2010, a total of 18 978 road accidents occurred and resulted in 397 fatalities, 1 252 serious injuries and 4 781 minor injuries while in 2011, a total of 18 001 accidents occurred and led to 483 deaths, 1289 serious injuries and 4 714 minor injuries.

In 2012, he said 17 527 accidents occurred and led to 404 deaths, while 1 285 serious injuries and 4 346 minor injuries were recorded. Presenting on the role played by the media in road safety, the deputy director of information services, Mr Bome Matshaba, said as the media, they supported road safety public campaigns by writing stories to sensitise the public on matters pertaining to road safety.

He said during public holidays, his department created a platform for the police to disseminate road safety messages through writing advance stories on the said. Mr Matshaba said the media played a crucial role in the fight for road safety.   ENDS