Road crashes down by 689

THE Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (MVA) has reported that there were 3 000 road accidents last year, down from 3 689 recorded in 2019.

According to the road crash and claims report of 2020 issued by the MVA Fund, road crashes remain a concern in the country. “Statistics further indicate that there was an average annual decrease in road crashes of 8% from 2016 to 2020,” the report reads.

Densely populated regions experienced higher incidents, with Khomas region recording the highest number of vehicle crashes last year, accounting for 35%, while Oshana and Erongo recorded the second highest figures at 10%. The data shows that most road crashes occurred in the regions with the largest towns in the country.

Major causes of crashes were inappropriate overtaking, non-compliance with traffic light signals and driving under the influence of alcohol. Alcohol was among the leading contributors to crashes, the report shows. Of the crashes that occurred last year, 31% were collisions and 25% were rollovers. More than half of the weekly road crashes (51%) happened during weekends.

Even though 51% of the crashes happened over three days, the fatality rate declined by 24% compared to 2019. Last year, there were 462 fatal crashes, 145 fewer than 2019.

December and March recorded the highest fatal accidents, while February has recorded the lowest fatality rates since 2016. Omusati and Otjozondjupa regions had the highest fatalities last year. On average, 413 people were injured in crashes every month, with a significant decrease of 24% observed in pedestrian crashes.

In 2020, 60% of people injured in road crashes were males, while females accounted for 32%. This is a consistent pattern in crash data over the years. Of the casualties, 182 people sustained serious injuries, with 101 cases being poly-trauma injuries.

VEHICLES MOSTLY INVOLVED CRASHES

Two types of vehicles stood out, as key focus points for future prevention work, with sedans at 49% and pickups (32%) involved in most crashes. Of the vehicles involved in crashes last year, most of them (72%) were used for private purposes, followed by public transport at 12%.