20 Mar 2014

The Jwaneng deputy district commissioner, Mr Richard Boitshwarelo says he is optimistic that young people can change their attitude towards road safety and consequently reduce the number of road traffic accidents.

Speaking at the Jwaneng Month of Youth Against Road Accidents training workshop recently, Mr Boitshwarelo urged young people to desist from behaviours that caused road accidents, some of which claimed innocent lives.

He said it was regrettable that the youth continued to perish in road crashes. “Young people especially those aged between 20-29 years continue to lose their lives as drivers and passengers. The same age group also experiences high pedestrian deaths,” he explained.

The deputy district commissioner noted that this was due to the fact that the said age group was less experienced as drivers and made a lot of mistakes on the roads. He also advised them to desist from getting over excited and in the process speeding.

He said even the type of cars driven by young people were designed for speed, while Botswana roads were not designed for such purposes. Furthermore, Mr Boitshwarelo explained that drunken driving was one of the major contributory factors to road accidents.

He said even though drunken driving seemed fashionable to young people, it was a destructive habit that has cost people their lives. He also called on young drivers to use the right seat posture while driving to avoid accidents.

He urged them to be patient on the roads, especially in big towns where there were high volumes of traffic. While he acknowledged that some drivers made mistakes on the road, there was no need to go into a fit of rage as that could cause accidents.

Mr Boitshwarelo said with the right attitude, behavioural change could help the country achieve its goals of reducing road accidents. He urged young people to effectively participate towards realisation of Botswana National Road Safety Strategy of 2011-2020.

“This strategy also supports the United Nation’s Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020, in which member states strive to reduce road injuries and fatalities by 50 per cent by the year 2020. The Botswana Road Safety strategy ensures a continuous and sustainable approach to road safety,” he explained. Ends