Think twice save a life

WINDHOEK, DEC. 9 – With the festive season proven as a peak period for road accidents and fatalities on Namibian roads, Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL) – a subsidiary of the Ohlthaver & List (O&L) Group and member of the Private Road Safety Forum (PRSF) – re-affirmed its commitment to the national road safety campaign for the 2018 December holidays.

As an advocate of responsible alcohol consumption, and as a supporter of the ‘Don’t Drink and Drive’ campaign for many years, to promote safer and accident free roads in Namibia, NBL has once again provided the Namibia Police (NAMPOL) with breathalysers valued at N$150,000 and 300 cases of soft drinks to the value of N$50,000 for the officers that will parole road blocks during the festive season. NBL also sponsored N$10,000 to the West Coast Safety Initiative and N$125,000 to the Namibia Media Holdings (NMH) 60 Day National Road Safety Campaign.

NBL Managing Director, Wessie van der Westhuizen said: “We lose too many lives on our roads because of the decisions and choices we make when under the influence of alcohol. Our recently launched campaign stresses on the thinking patterns that contribute significantly to the results of our irresponsible actions. ‘I am not drunk, I only had a couple’ and ‘there aren’t any roadblocks tonight’ – these are but some of the detrimental thoughts that lead to decisions that unfortunately are great contributors to the road accident- and fatality status of our country. If we think twice about the decisions we make when under the influence of alcohol, we can save lives. NBL is and will always be pleased to be associated with such a worthy cause and effort because it supports our Group purpose, ‘Creating a future, enhance life’.”

The total sponsorship of NBL towards road safety initiatives during the festive season amounts to N$335,000 and will be effectively spread in usage to Khomas, Erongo and Otjizondjupa road blocks.

NAMPOL Deputy Commissioner, Amalia Gawanas – Head of the Traffic Law Enforcement Division added: “The number of road accidents and fatalities on Namibian roads remain a serious concern. Most of these crashes are caused by human error – negligence, destructive driving, speeding, overloading, red light ignorance, teenage drivers, driving under the influence of alcohol & drugs, vehicles not being road-worthy, etc.

NBL’s commitment and sponsorship goes a long way in the role the road blocks play on our national roads during the festive season. This sponsorship from NBL will equip traffic officers to curb alcohol related matters – as breathalysers are of our greatest need in this fight at the moment. We truly appreciate NBL’s continued support, and we will do our utmost best to use this donation to the best of our ability. We are ready to run this race, and we will do all we can to contribute to reducing crashes on our roads.”

Van der Westhuizen calls on all Namibian motorists to play their part and respect each other on the road – in curbing the high number of road accidents and fatalities. Van der Westhuizen: “Let us be the responsible citizen – think twice, to save lives on our roads.”

Emergency numbers provided by the MVA Fund are 081 96 82 (Accident response Number), and 061 22 28 88 (Traffic Report Number). – info@namibiadailynews.info