Road fatalities increase

Seven deaths were recorded on the country’s national roads this past week, bringing the total death toll since the Easter weekend to 17.

Wednesday marked 21 days since the launch of the pilot road safety project Xupifa Eemwenyo, and following last week’s remarkable results of zero lives lost on the roads, statistics for this week showed a significant rise in deaths. Last year over the same period, only four lives were lost compared to this past week’s seven, Transport Minister Joel Kaapanda said on Wednesday.Injuries sustained over the period however decreased from 50 last year to 16.Speeding once again topped the list of road offences booked, with 387 of the total 1 182 written notices issued.People caught without valid drivers’ licences made up the second largest group fined, with 101 notices issued.A total of 25 vehicles had to be taken off the road, and had their road-worthiness suspended, Kaapanda said.Kaapanda used the opportunity to address the attitudes of road users, as he said all the accidents recorded this past week happened in urban areas.”This just shows you how fast people are driving.All these accidents could have been avoided.”The minister also gave reporters a glimpse into his ministry’s longer-term plans on road safety.His ministry is looking into the implementation of the widely used Point Demerit System.In terms of this system, habitual offenders are penalised for every road offence they are found to have committed, and after a certain amount of offences, drivers could lose their drivers’ licences or have them suspended.Another idea receiving attention, according to Works Ministry Acting Director Eugene Tendekule, is the reduction of the legal blood level content (blc) from 0,08 g/dl to 0,05 g/dl.Last year over the same period, only four lives were lost compared to this past week’s seven, Transport Minister Joel Kaapanda said on Wednesday.Injuries sustained over the period however decreased from 50 last year to 16. Speeding once again topped the list of road offences booked, with 387 of the total 1 182 written notices issued.People caught without valid drivers’ licences made up the second largest group fined, with 101 notices issued.A total of 25 vehicles had to be taken off the road, and had their road-worthiness suspended, Kaapanda said.Kaapanda used the opportunity to address the attitudes of road users, as he said all the accidents recorded this past week happened in urban areas.”This just shows you how fast people are driving.All these accidents could have been avoided.”The minister also gave reporters a glimpse into his ministry’s longer-term plans on road safety.His ministry is looking into the implementation of the widely used Point Demerit System.In terms of this system, habitual offenders are penalised for every road offence they are found to have committed, and after a certain amount of offences, drivers could lose their drivers’ licences or have them suspended.Another idea receiving attention, according to Works Ministry Acting Director Eugene Tendekule, is the reduction of the legal blood level content (blc) from 0,08 g/dl to 0,05 g/dl.