Tujoromajo Kasuto
The 2022/23 Festive season crash statistics from the Motor Vehicle Accidents Fund reveal that compared to 2020 and 2021, injuries and crashes reduced significantly in 2022.
The figures state that crashes declined by 15.2 percent, injuries declined by 15 percent and fatalities declined by 45 percent respectively, in comparison with 2021/22.
It is reported that during the 2022/23 festive season, pedestrian related crashes were the most frequent crashes at 28 percent, followed by collisions and roll-overs at 27 percent each.
Furthermore, 50 percent of the fatalities resulted from roll-over crashes, followed by collisions at 24 percent of the fatalities.
Roll-over crashes are one of the most frequent crashes resulting in high fatality rate and the data provided reveals that 86 crashes were recorded with 27 fatalities.
Similarly, compared to 2020/21 Crashes declined by 19 percent, injuries declined by 23 percent and fatalities declined 31.65 percent.
In addition,324 crashes were recorded Nationwide with fatalities coming in at 54.
The MVA fund says 98 fatalities were recorded and 79 in the 2021/20 festive season.
Meanwhile, 633 injuries were recorded with men accounting for 388, women 211 and 34 being unknown.
The MVA notes that the age range of 20 to 44 was the most affected and recorded the highest rates of injuries.
Khomas region claimed the highest count of crashes at 24 percent followed by Erongo and Otjozondjupa regions at 15 percent and 13 percent.
Furthermore, Otjozondjupa region had the highest fatality at 15 percent, followed by Oshikoto at 13 percent.
Road’s Authority Transportation Executive Officer, Sidney Boois, says that the regulator has recorded 90 percent safety and traffic rules compliance post the festive season.
The monitoring team covered the B1 south that connects windhoek to Keetmanshoop, B1 north between Windhoek, Otjiwarongo and Otavi.
Additionally, the B2 between the capital and the coastal towns.
Boois says that basesd on the situation on the ground at various check points and roadblocks there is a high compliance on the part of motorist.
“We reflect that from the number of cars and drivers that we checked and would then analyse how sunctions would be issued from such,” he said.
He said there are three types of crushes that accounted for either serious or fatal injuries, with over 50 to 40 percent of those crashes being rollovers.
Rollovers are single Vehicle accidents.
Boois says that the analysis of crashes reveals that the underlying factors from rollovers amongst other include mechanical failures such as poor vehicle maintenance agrivated by circumstances such as overloading and speeding.
He further notes that the second type of crashes are collisions which he says is due to decision errors.
The third crash statistics are the crashes involving pedestrians and Boois says that from sporadic checks they observed majority victims were under the influence of substances.
“The new trend is now the drinking and walking which is a compromising for accidents, that’s why crashes involving pedestrians are among the top three type crashes causing serious or fatal injuries” he explained.
