Gale Ngakane
10 November 2009
October is a month Francistown people would love to forget in a hurry as many people perished in numerous road accidents.
An overloaded minibus travelling between Tutume and Francistown had a tyre burst and overturned, killing six people on the spot, while two others died on arrival at the hospital. It is said in all 13 people died in that accident, though official statistics put the number at eight.
Those who escaped with their lives suffered serious injuries.
In the middle of October, a south-bound bus, allegedly driven by someone without a Public Service Vehicle (PSV) licence, killed a man and injured his companion at the bridge beyond Game Shopping Complex.
Onlookers said the two men, one of them a barber at a shack near BBS building and the other a painter, were walking on the left hand side of the road when the bus rammed into them.
"The painter was killed on the spot. There was a lot of blood. The bus even undressed him," said a still horrified street vendor who did not want to be identified.
Barbers next to BBS building said they were stunned by what happened to their colleague whom they said was a friendly man.
"I went to check on him at the hospital (Nyangabgwe Referral Hospital). He will come around, though I doubt he will ever be the same again," said a barber who only gave his name as Charles.
Talk at the bus rank is that when the bus, which was going to Tonota, was filled up, the driver was not there, hence he allegedly telephoned a friend, who did not have a PSV licence to drive it.
Still in October, two people died when a car they were traveling in hit a cow near Mathangwane bridge.
The police believe the accident could have been avoided had the people not travelled at night, especially along the Francistown-Nata and Francistown-Orapa Roads, which are cattle ranching areas.
"Travelling at night should only be done when it is highly imperative. It should not be done for purposes of leisure because that is how people get involved in accidents," said divisional traffic officer (North) senior superintendent Gaborutwe Radithupa in an interview.
Radithupa also believes the attitude among motorists is still a major problem.
"What I have come to realise in my researches is that people have a fear of being caught. They will tell you that the police are going to charge them.
"Of course we charge them when they do not obey laid down rules. But the police cannot prevent accidents when they occur. For instance, when the Mathangwane accident occurred, the police roadblock was a few metres ahead," said Radithupa.
As for Francistown, Radithupa said the problem of not putting on seatbelts is not as rampant as it was before the introduction of the new traffic fines.
Though the public is nowadays provided with road safety messages, there are still some people who do not obey speed limits.
Not only do they drive roughly on the roads. In the dusty meandering streets of villages, they drive at breakneck speed, scattering children and small stock in the process.
It is by a stroke of good luck that small children, who like to play on the streets manage to rush off in the nick of time as the mad drivers step on the brakes raising a cloud of dust in the process.
On the highways, some cars have acquired names like "Laela Mmago", (bid farewell to your mother) because if you are unlucky to get a lift from them, it may be the last time you see your beloved one.
On the road, the only thing they are always on the lookout for is the police speed trap, as they do not believe in cars that travel like hearses.
They will slow down to the stipulated speed limit whenever a motorist traveling in the opposite direction "alerts" them of the danger. The "alert" is usually done with the flick of lights, or a gesture of the hand to the forehead.
One of these drivers recently told his hangers-on and whoever cared to listen that he took only an hour on the 200km stretch between Letlhakane and Serowe.
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