By Foibe N Paavo
SWAKOPMUND, 20 May 2022 – In a further effort to promote road safety in Erongo, ownership of the Arandis Emergency Response and Traffic Management Centre (AERTMC) was officially handed over to the National Road Safety Council (NRSC) in Swakopmund on Thursday evening.
The two councils partnered to come up with the initiative to reduce road accidents and time spent on highways during accidents.
Namibia is one of the countries with good road infrastructure but many people still lose their lives due to reckless driving and other factors.
Research has shown that 95% to 98% of road accidents are caused by human behavior
According to the chairman of the NRSC, Eliphas !Owos-oab, during the inauguration of the project in December 2021, the centre’s costs amounted to N$27 650 000 inclusive of all the professional fees and other equipment.
Chief executive officer of the Arandis Town Council, Stanley Norris, said the council has transferred a portion of land to the value of N$1,35 million to establish this project.
“I know that this centre will be transferred to the most capable hands in the assurance of minimising or reducing road ill activity and injuries in the Erongo region,” said the mayor of Arandis, Erastus Kandenge.
The centre is intended to achieve the targets of Namibia’s Second Decade of Action for Road Safety Strategy for the period 2021-2030, launched in February 2021 by the Minister of Works and Transport, John Mutorwa, on behalf of the NRSC.
The AERTMC is a capital-intensive flagship project to look at new ways of restoring driver behavior on Namibian roads and to promote road safety in Namibia, particularly in the project coverage area, which is all the way from Usakos to Swakopmund.
The B2 road is one of the highest accident zones in Erongo since it is a corridor that links all road networks to the port of Walvis Bay for import and export purposes. Landlocked countries conduct their import and export activities by truck, with abnormal traffic, and vehicles carrying dangerous goods on a daily basis.
Timely notification, emergency services, and experts will now be in place to prevent these accidents. The initiative will help police to see who has overtaken and who is speeding, and the Namibian Police will rely heavily on this information.
Chief executive officer of the NRSCl, Eugene Tendekule highlighted the mechanism would contribute to a reduction in speeding, lead to behavior change, and further efforts of the NRSC to reduce accidents in the region.
“We need to bring technology for the next generation. Resistance to change is a NO!,” Eliphas !Owos-aob declared. – Namibia Daily News
