In executing our mandate of promoting road safety in Namibia, it has become a culture that the NRSC in conjunction with its stakeholders carryout the Festive Season Road Safety Campaign with the aim of curbing the road carnage during this festive season. This year's Campaign launch took place in Otjiwarongo on 02 December 2015 and was launched by the Minister of Works and Transport, Honourable Alpheus !Naruseb.
The campaign has been planned to run from 16 November 2015 until 15 January 2016 in order to stabilize and reduce the spiralling road crashes and their resultant injuries and fatalities on the B1 (from Windhoek to Ondangwa) and B2 (from Okahandja to Swakopmund) national roads.
The theme for this year’s festive season road safety campaign is “I Pledge” and the slogan is “Road safety, My Responsibility”.
During this Festive Season, our focus is mainly to deal specifically with speed management, vehicle fitness and driver fitness as well as driving under the influence. The campaign is undertaken as a multi-stakeholder effort and drawing on the lessons from the August - October short-term interventions, we believe proper planning and communication is of the essence, hence the postponement of the Festive Season Campaign Launch.
We have jointly agreed with key stakeholders in the sub-sector to undertake the following as a joint operation on the B1 and B2 roads:
Average of 50 traffic officials daily working will screen 500 drivers for alcohol per day and check 500 vehicles for roadworthiness (average 7500 vehicles and 7500 drivers will screened for the period which would provide baseline data for future interventions). Speed check will be done at all eight (8) points on a daily basis both on B1 and B2 roads.
As in the short-term interventions during August 2015 to October 2015, eight (8) strategic points on both the B1 and B2 will be manned by officers from NAMPOL, Roads Authority, Local Authority Traffic Units, Motor Vehicle Accident Fund, NRSC and Private Emergency Response Service Providers.
In terms of the above, NAMPOL has started deploying Traffic Officers already from 16 November 2015 onto the B1 and B2 roads and such Traffic Policing activities can be seen in Windhoek as well.
The launch was jointly organised by the NRSC and the MVA Fund in collaboration with Public, Private and Non-governmental entities.
