Deaths on national roads die down

ACCORDING to the Namibian Police’s traffic division, there have been no deaths on the country’s roads since last Tuesday’s bloodbath outside Okahandja in which ten people died.

Chief Inspector Amalia Gawanas yesterday confirmed that no new road fatalities had been reported by yesterday afternoon.Gawanas was part of a team that monitored the roads between Windhoek and northern Namibia on Sunday.Since Friday, the traffic division in conjunction with the air force flew over different parts of the country to keep an eye on the roads.Two more such flights – on Friday and next Sunday – will be undertaken on the busiest roads to help see to it that people drive back safely.During Sunday’s flight from Windhoek to Oshivelo and back, at least two accident scenes were spotted.About 50 km outside Otjiwarongo towards Otavi, a Toyota Land Cruiser had left the road and overturned at about 05h00 in the morning. The driver told Gawanas at the scene, that he, his father and two of his younger siblings were on their way to the North when he noticed an oncoming truck driving in their lane. In order to avoid the accident, he swerved off the road, lost control over the vehicle and it overturned.His father and siblings sustained serious injuries and were transported to Windhoek for treatment.On the same road – about 70 km outside Otjiwarongo – a Toyota Cressida left the road at about 07h00 on Sunday morning.According to that driver, he suspects that he fell asleep and left the road. He managed to maintain control over the vehicle but its undercarriage was severely damaged. None of the four occupants sustained serious injuries.Although the early-morning traffic appeared to be slow, it picked up towards the afternoon. Deputy Commissioner Ralph Ludwig, commanding officer of the traffic division, yesterday afternoon appealed to motorists to keep a safe following distance between themselves and the cars in front of them. Also, motorists should switch on their headlights, even during the day, to increase visibility, he said.