Road crashes, deaths see minor decline
Road crashes, deaths see minor decline

Road crashes, deaths see minor decline

Jana-Mari Smith
The total number of road crashes and people killed or injured since January show a slight dip compared to 2018 figures although the total death toll of 323 over the past seven-and-a-half months indicate that more than 43 lost their lives on average each month.

New year-to-date statistics released by the Motor Vehicle Accident (MVA) Fund show that close to 80% of those who died in car accidents by 13 August 2019 were men and the 91 persons who died were aged between 30 and 39. Of the 323 people who were killed this year on Namibia's roads 246 (76%) were male, while 77 (24%) were female. Moreover, 57 were aged between 30 and 34, while 34 were aged between 35 and 39 years old.

The statistics show further that 43 of the recorded deaths in vehicle accidents were of persons aged 14 and younger. Fifteen were aged between zero and four, and 18 were aged between five and nine, and 10 fatalities were of persons aged between 10 and 14 years old.

Nevertheless, compared to 2018's total number of fatalities of 341, the 323 fatalities to date indicate a decline of 5%. Analysis further found that in 2018, most fatalities were recorded under the 30 to 34 age groups (42).



Better

Compared to 2018 statistics, the MVA indicated an overall 5% decrease in crashes this year, with a total of 2 168 recorded to date, compared to 2 291 last year over the same period.

Injuries declined by 6%, with 3 243 recorded to date, compared to 3 459 last year.

The statistics indicate that the Khomas Region remains the most impacted, with the highest number of crashes recorded - 794 - followed by 249 crashes recorded in the Erongo Region and 195 in Otjozondjupa.

Further analysis by the fund shows that most crashes recorded during the period were as a result of collisions (590), followed by 553 pedestrian-related crashes and 520 roll-overs.

Seventy-eight crashes involved cyclists, while 81 of the crashes recorded involved animals and 56 crashes involved a person who fell or jumped from a moving vehicle.

Sixty hit-and-runs were recorded and 21 crashes took place as a result of tyre bursts.

JANA-MARI SMITH

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-02

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