Youth prone to road accidents

| Friday November 2, 2007 00:00

Records indicate that the most common cause of road accidents include, drunken driving, over-speeding, driver carelessness and pedestrian error, mostly involving young people.

During the past week, the Botswana Police recorded 340 accidents in which five people died, 20 suffered serious injuries while 46 had minor injuries.

Statistics show that from January to June 2007, a total of 8, 400 accidents were recorded in which 184 people died, 557 suffered serious injuries and 2, 245 had minor injuries.

Out of the 184 people who died, 107 of them were aged between one and 39 years. Regrettably, in the fatal accidents recorded, 89 drivers involved were aged between 19 and 39 years.

Meanwhile, during the same period last year, 8, 366 accidents were recorded claiming lives of 197 people. A total of 365 were seriously injured and 2, 572 suffered minor injuries in those accidents.

Of the 197 people who died, 48 were young people aged between 15 and 39 years.
Records also reveal that most of the accidents occur during weekends - Friday to Sunday - between 1400hours and 2000 hours.

In a bid to counter road traffic accidents, the Botswana Police Service conducted breathalyzer tests on 174 motorists and 19 of them were charged for driving under the influence of alcohol. Meanwhile, a total of 48 motorists were charged for using hand-held mobile phones whilst driving.

The police appeals to road users to act responsibly and abide by road signs and regulations.