Fatal road traffic accidents remain major concern

The Monitor Editor | Tuesday October 24, 2023 06:00

On Saturday after escaping several near-hits on the road around the CBD area, my colleague and I casually discussed the dangers of driving at night and in the wee hours of the morning on weekends.

Judging by the way some people drive at such times, one can easily deduce that most of these drivers over the weekend do so under the influence of alcohol. The excitement, which can easily be characterised as craziness leaves a lot to be desired. On Sunday morning, we woke up to the news that a 43-year-old woman had died on the spot following an accident that occurred by Partial traffic lights in the early hours. The police estimated that the accident occurred at 12:55am.

It does not matter how many roadblocks the police mount on our roads if we as individuals do not introspect and consciously decide to engage in behavioural change that will better our lives. At this rate, we will likely continue to lose lives to traffic road accidents.

You see, the police do not mount roadblocks to fix us or to be mean to us, they do it to protect our lives. It is sad to hear adults advising each other on how they can dodge a roadblock. Like really now! Why would you need to dodge a roadblock if you are not doing anything wrong? And 'the something wrong' that usually forces drivers to dodge police roadblocks is unfortunately something that endangers the life of said driver and other road users. Road users should be the ones leading the calls for road safety, not behaving like toddlers who just started walking and want to use every opportunity to cause destruction. Perhaps it is time we lobby government to introduce laws that will come down heavily on establishments that sell alcohol to be charged should it be found that they continue selling alcohol to a visibly intoxicated person. It is understandable that bars and liquor restaurants are in business and need to also make money, but let's all share the responsibility and save our nation from perishing in road accidents.

A note to drivers: please let us be responsible adults! We now have so many reliable cab companies. Instead of endangering so many lives, it is advisable to take a cab or find a designated driver who will not be drinking and driving.