300 killed in road carnage

Zero Road Traffic Accidents Organisation Banana (Zero RTA), has pleaded with road users to take necessary precautions on the roads, to avoid car accidents.

Zero RTA Organisation is led by a trio of wheelchair-bound gentlemen, who are all victims of road accidents. Kabelo Malongwa, Mothusi Selefo and Edward Dhliwayo have since resolved to become advocates for road use through their situation.  Their target is to put more emphasis on the already existing measures in order to curb the high rate of road traffic accidents, which continue to claim many lives of people on a daily basis.

Chairman of the organisation, Kabelo Malongwa said that they are soldiers on a mission to help reduce road accidents, as well as bring awareness. “Instead of being remorseful about our so called unfortunate situation, we believe it is a calling for us. We are not victims as commonly referred to, but we are soldiers on a mission destined to make changes on issues of road safety, as well as educate the nation and change behavioural conduct amongst all,” he said.

It has turned out to be a tradition for Batswana to only mourn after one’s life has been claimed by a car, and later on they adapt the same reckless driving. They’ve observed that accidents mostly happen on weekends and during holidays. The trio is of the view that everyone should prioritise road safety responsibility, and not wait until being involved in car accidents because everyone is already affected from all angles and walks of life.

“If it is not you, it is your relative or a friend and the government also spends a lot on the rehabilitation and treatment of people involved in road accidents. Wheelchair users are increasing on daily basis in our country and we lose our beloved ones, let us unite and take caution,” he advised. Drivers were therefore encouraged to sit their children on car seats, to protect them from ending up losing their lower limbs at a younger age. They also counsel victims of road accidents and believe that disability due to road accidents should not destroy one’s life for good.

Malongwa got involved in a road accident and started using a wheel chair in 2007, while Selefo has been on a wheel chair since 2008 and Dhliwayo in 2011. Director of Traffic, Senior Assistant Commissioner of Botswana Police Service, Mosimanegape Katholo has also confirmed that weekends and end of month times always experience a higher number of accidents compared to other ordinary days. He shared with The Midweek Sun that the whole of last week had 323 general road accidents, in which 15 lives were lost in seven of the crashes, while the previous week recorded 284 car accidents that claimed seven lives in five car crashes.

Since the beginning of January up to this past Sunday, 299 people died from road accidents, compared to 252 deaths last year around that time. Between this past Friday and Sunday, four fatal accidents happened, all affecting pedestrians on the roads. One happened in Mmankgodi on Friday night, while another one occurred along the Western Bypass in Gaborone  road on Saturday night. Other accidents that killed pedestrians this past weekend happened in Digawana and in Goodhope. 

Katholo explained that accidents that result in a majority of people being killed are mostly caused by a car hitting a pedestrian or loss of vehicle control on the road. Other reasons that they have observed to be causes to road accidents include over speeding, drunk driving, lack of rest and lack of experience. Katholo highlighted that over speeding remains a dominant offence as in the previous week they charged 2052 motorists for over speeding.

Meanwhile, Katlholo has applauded Zero RTA for the important role they are playing in sensitizing people on proper road use. “Road use is a responsibility for us all and to save our community from car accidents disability or death, we should unite and do what is necessary because these accidents can be avoided,” he said.