The National Police Service (NPS) kicked off a countrywide crackdown on road users after a spike in fatalities arising from road crashes.
A statement signed by Police Spokesperson Bruno Shioso indicated that the nationwide operation to enforce the traffic rules including the use of seat belts by passengers.
The crackdown also seeks to ascertain Road Service licence (RSL) validity verification for all Public Service Vehicles (PSVs) as well as PSV route compliance check to weed out illegal PSV operators.
The enforcement drive also seeks to verify PSV Licence and badge validity, Motor vehicle Inspection sticker for PSVs as well as commercial vehicles, monitor Fleet Speed and enforce Lane discipline to prevent overlapping and dangerous overtaking.
The crackdown was informed by recent spike in road carnage that saw an increase in fatalities as well as serious injuries.
In just 9 days to September 26, 145 people lost their lives across the country from road crashes.
"We also observe a sharp increase in fatalities among passengers and in the last one week. (18th-26th September 2022) a total of 145 persons have perished.
"From our assessment, the increase was mainly attributed to preventable and predictable factors. Non-usage of seat belts by commuters, driver behavior such as speeding leading to loss of control in high occupancy vehicles and poor mechanical condition of vehicles resulting in brake failures and tyre bursts were some of the noted causes," read the statement in part.
Data released by the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) also showed that between January and September 26, the number of fatalities also shot up to 3,541 as compared to 3,286 who perished in the same period a year before representing a 7.8 per cent increase.
"From January 1 to September 26, 2022, we have recorded a total of 15,924 road crashes victims countrywide; 3,541 victims were fatally injured, 7,236 persons seriously injured, while 5,147 victims were slightly injured.
"Vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, motorcyclists and pillion passengers are the most affected in these statistics," added the statement.
The most affected were pedestrians where 1,269 perished in 2022 followed motorcyclists at 941, passengers (634), drivers (324), pillion passengers (324) and pedal cyclists (49).
Shioso therefore implored road users and stakeholders to co-operate with the enforcement officers as they conduct this exercise.
