Don’t drink and drive, drink Vigo

Namibian roads will be a lot safer as the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (MVA) has received a sponsorship of N$100,000 towards the Festive Season Road Safety Campaign.
The campaign is in collaboration with the National Road Safety Council (NRSC); the Roads Authority (RA); the Namibian Police and the City of Windhoek.
In support of fighting the high death toll on Namibian roads, Namibia Breweries Limited alongside other sponsors donated an additional 150 cases of its non-alcoholic beverage, Vigo as refreshment for law enforcement officials during the festive season campaign.
Namibia has recorded more than 600 fatalities on its national roads during the past year – a statistic that key role-players including the MVA Fund aims to decrease by at least 50 percent by the year 2020. Chief Human Capital of the MVA Fund, Fanuel Uugwanga: “These numbers are unacceptable. The number of road fatalities and accidents on Namibian roads need to be reduced. We need to continue with awareness on road safety and can’t stop now. Road safety is everyone’s business. While inadequate funding has always been a great challenge, we are very grateful for the sponsorships towards this initiative which will make a huge difference in effectively carrying out this much needed task. These sponsorships will have a significant impact on saving precious lives.”
During the handover of the NBL sponsorship, Managing Director (MD) Wessie van der Westhuizen expressed great concern over the lack of discipline with regards to the consumption of alcohol. His emphasis was highly placed on drinking and driving, which according to statistics contribute to almost 35 percent of road crashes on Namibian roads. Said Van der Westhuizen: “NBL’s efforts are also complemented by our DRINKiQ programme as well as the Stay Cool, Enjoy Responsibility Campaign that aims to instil a sense of responsibility among road users, to respect our national speed limits, road signs and to be extra vigilant at all times when driving on our national roads. We believe that efforts to reduce accidents are most effective when all stakeholders inclusive of government, key role players, road users, as well as pedestrians work together in addressing common goals. This is why NBL has fostered numerous partnerships and invested enormously in road safety matters over the years.”
The National Road Safety Campaign will focus greatly on the B1 and B2 national roads, as these are the busiest roads which also record the most accidents in the country. The campaign will include initiatives that embrace elements of education, enforcement and emergency response. Aggressive screening and speed checks will form part of this campaign. Emergency response services will also be ready at many points on these roads.
The accident response number to contact is 081 96 82.