Scholar patrols making primary schools safer
The Namibia Road Safety Forum (NRSF) in cooperation with various road safety stakeholders commissioned 14 schools across the country to conduct student patrols.The NRSF held a WesBank and Motor Vehicle Accident (MVA) Fund scholar patrol at MH Greeff Primary School in Khomasdal on 10 August The event focused on the introduction of scholar patrols at primary schools to promote student safety on and around school grounds.
MVA Fund representative Hilaria Graig said the fund collects data on road accidents. “Accidents involving pedestrians accounted for about 27-30% of all accidents in the country, which is very alarming. We recognise that school children are the most vulnerable when it comes to pedestrian safety and we will work together as stakeholders to ensure there is a safe place for our children to cross the street. We will also advocate for a 30km speed limit near schools.”
Shikongeni Nashivela, head of the city police traffic safety department, urged the public, parents and guardians to take their children to school safely, especially in the morning. “Our statistics show that more children are victims of traffic accidents, so we urge schools to provide parking spaces to avoid chaos when parents pick up their children.”
According to the NRSF’s Horst Heimstadt, there were around 120 000 registered vehicles in the country 30 years ago. That number has now grown to 400 000 and is estimated to increase further to 700 000 in the next 30 years.