The Botswana Police recently launched 60 Days of Action campaign – an initiative aimed at reducing road accidents and crime rate in the last 60 days of the year.
Police say that this campaign comes after the realization that road accidents and crime are usually high in the last days of the year that mark the festive season.
The major causes of these accidents during the period according to the police are usually excessive speed, drunken driving, disobedience of traffic signs, animals on the roads and others.
To address the problem of road accidents members of the Botswana Police will mount intensified road blocks throughout the country in partnership with various stakeholders among them the Department of Roads, Transport and Safety. This is in addition to various other road safety educational campaigns.
According to the police, the 60 Days of Action campaign is in line with the Accra Declaration which was made in 2007 by African States Ministers responsible for Transport and Health in Accra, Ghana to ensure road safety in the continent. The campaign is also seen to be consistent with the UN General Assembly Resolution 64/255 of May 2010 which declared the period 2011 – 2020, a Decade of Action for Road Safety.
With regard to reducing crime during the festive season, the police are focusing on educating and encouraging people to pay closer attention to the security of their businesses and residential places when they travel to various places.
Members of the public are also urged to pay more attention to their personal safety to avoid falling victim to crime.