For illustrative purposes only (Photo: PAC)
The police have said that any Namibian arrested while driving drunk during the festive season will have to pay N$8 000 bail before appearing in a lower court.
In a statement recently, police Inspector-General Sebastian Ndeitunga said that foreigners arrested while driving drunk will pay N$9 000 bail before they appear in a lower court.
The fine for other road traffic-related offences remains at N$4 000.
Police’s major general Oscar Embubulu told a public hearing of the parliamentary standing committee on economics and public administration in October this year that about 4 000 people had died and 38 908 others injured in 23 072 road accidents since 2014.
So far this year, 446 died between January and September compared to 576 in 2018.
Embulu said that 778 people died in 2017, and 736 died in 2016. In 2015, Embulu said, there were 720 deaths and 684 in 2014.
According to Embubulu, said the number of injured people in 2018 stood at 6 118, and in 2017 at 6 573, whilst in 2016, it was at 7 357.
Additionally, in 2015, 7 527 people were injured in road accidents, and 7 048 in 2014. There were 4 101 crashes in 2014, 4 302 in 2015, and 4 193 in 2016.
This figure dropped to 4 054 in 2017 and dropped further in 2018 to 3 779, and now stands at 2 643 road accidents since January this year.
