Motor Vehicle Accident prepped for long Independence weekend
The Motor Vehicle Accident (MVA) Fund is strengthening their capacity of Emergency Medical Response Services (EMRS) along the major highways during the Independence long weekend, an executive announced Friday.
The Fund said the aim is to record zero deaths on the roads, but the coming weekend has in the past been marred with crashes due to increased activity on the roads, thus giving rise to crashes, injuries and fatalities.
“During this period, we once again anticipate high traffic volumes, especially on the B2 route leading to the coast, where this year’s independence celebration will be held as well as the B1 route going to the North,” the Fund emphasised.
For this reason, the Fund will strengthen EMRS support at all its bases situated along the B1 and B2 routes and these EMRS bases will be in Otavi, Otjiwarongo, Omuthiya, Arandis and Mariental and to further supplement EMRS, the Fund will reactivate its temporal EMRS base at Farm Sukses.
MVA Fund Chief of Corporate Affairs, Surihe Gaomas-Guchu said enhancing EMRS capacity along those major routes of Namibia will ensure that persons injured in motor vehicle crashes receive rapid and well-coordinated emergency medical response services within the golden hour. “The Fund’s EMRS intervention is part of a string of other road safety strategies which will be implemented to curtail road carnage on Namibian roads during Independence holding and our efforts in EMRS will be amplified by intensified law enforcement and road safety education by other stakeholders and through this strategy, we hope to deliver tangible and sustained reductions in crashes and resultant casualties during this period,” added Gaomas-Guchu.
Celebrated under the theme ‘A People United for Prosperity.’ this year’s theme embodies the value of pulling together as Namibians, towards a common goal, as such the Fund calls on every citizen of Namibia to join the road safety fight and do the right thing when using the road.
“This includes adhering to speed limits, not drinking and driving and obeying all traffic rules through self-policing,” the Fund added.
The Fund further reminded the public to save and report crashes to its Accident Response Number 9682, as doing so can save a life this weekend and urged the public to have the exact location of the crash, the number of vehicles involved, the number of people injured, if there are any entrapments and any fire or fire hazards.
“We wish all road users, a happy and accident-free 32nd Independence Celebration,” the Fund concluded.
