Chart of the Week
With the holidays around the corner and many Namibians planning road trips around the country, heavy emphasis must be put on road safety. Showing graphically the trend of motor accidents alongside the number of injuries and fatalities, we can see a clear trend in unfortunate motor events over the festive season.As one would expect, over the fourth quarter (Oct – Dec), where more people travel and travel further for the holidays, motor vehicle accidents are the highest of the year. The fourth quarter of 2020 showed the highest number of accidents (863), resulting in 1,645 injuries and 160 fatalities. 2021 showed slightly fewer accidents (849) and fewer injuries (1,495), but the accidents were more deadly, with fatalities reaching 178.
On average, 16% of all motor accidents result in fatalities. In the fourth quarter, that average rises to around 18%. Injuries per motor vehicle accident averaged around 1.75 persons, while in the fourth quarter that too rises to an average of 1.8 persons injured per accident.
*Liaan Burger is a research and data analyst.**
The overall trend seems to be stable and even slightly declining over the past few years (a 3% decline in injuries and a 6% decline in fatalities), which is a positive sign, especially as Namibia’s population continues to grow and thus more Namibians obtain driving licences to conquer the road.