MVA rolls out campaign to curtail casualties

The practice of transporting employees at the back of open vehicles not fitted with safety mechanisms poses a risk of severe injury and death as passengers are likely to be flung out of such vehicle due to lack of restraint.
The Motor Vehicle Accident Fund of Namibia (MVA Fund) have confirmed that statistics from their Call Centre indicate that from January 2014 until August 2014, 956 of the 2260 total crashes which were recorded involved trucks and pick-ups.
During the same period 1678 of the 4028 total people sustained injuries in road crashes involving trucks and pickups and 179 of the 471 total people lost their lives in crashes involving pickups and trucks. Therefore the MVA Fund continues to educate the public on the dangers and resultant consequences of being transported on the back of pickups and trucks.

The Fund has rolled out a workplace road safety campaign which aims to curtail mass casualties and fatalities from unsafe road practices such as conveyance of employees in inappropriate vehicles.
The campaign will run until March 2015 and the Fund further calls for all role players including public transport service providers to consider implementing safer transportation modes for their staff, thus preventing loss of life. Figures indicate that the highest number of fatalities involving pickups and trucks are between 21 and 35 years of age, and statistics further show that more males 70% than females 30% have died in crashes involving trucks and pickups.  Therefore the Fund strives to continue lobbying for safer roads and recommends to all employers and transport operators to consider safer modes of transport, such as buses and other vehicles with seatbelts for their employees.