17 Mar 2025

Public  engagements is vital in developing relevant accident prevention strategies for safer communities, especially during holidays.

This was said by the Botswana Police Service, Divisional Traffic Officer North, Assistant Commissioner,  Modisaotsile Solomon, when addressing Eloyi Christian Church in Francistown  yesterday.

He said the police continued to register high accident levels during the Easter holidays hence the reason they were joining efforts with the community to make sure road safety messages were delivered early.

He added that most of the accidents were avoidable only when road users drove with caution and followed road signs and markings. Mr Solomon said most accidents were caused by human error, road conditions such as potholes, not following driving rules and reckless driving, amongst others. He further advised churches to also use reliable transport when travelling for  Easter holidays to avoid accidents caused by vehicles which were not road worthy.

“Tyre check and proper service and maintenance should be considered when choosing a car to use for traveling as failure to inspect cars can lead to accidents”, he emphasised.

He said buying rejected tyres could also led to accidents as they were not road worthy. He said a good driver with experience in driving the public should be engaged. Mr  Solomon also noted that overloading was a challenge that had to be addressed as it contributed to road accidents. He further urged the church to have internal safety standards that protected the safety of the congregants at all costs.

He said spreading road safety message was vital in making sure churches made wise decisions when travelling for the Easter holidays. For his part, Eloyi Christian Church senior pastor, Mr Aaron Charles, advised the congregants to honour time to avoid travelling late and also hire road worthy transport. He added that time should be observed so that congregants arrived well in time at their destinations.

“Follow road signs and markings and let God do the rest,” he advised.

He said during the Easter holidays many people embarked on trips and it was important to be courteous to avoid accidents and fatalities. ENDS