National News

Police record 21 accidents over Easter

 

Police recorded 21 road accidents during the Easter holiday in which 10 people died, representing an increase from last year when 15 accidents were recorded with six deaths.

Police said 11 of the 21 accidents were serious.

The damaged MDF vehicle.

Police have attributed the increase in road accidents to poor road usage, mostly by pedestrians.

National Police deputy spokesperson Thomeck Nyaude said in an interview yesterday traffic police intensified their operations during the holidays.

He said: “There is an increase in the number of people killed, but traffic police intensified their patrols and checks of vehicles on the country’s roads. On the cause of the accidents, many of them were caused due to the fact that there is lack of knowledge on how to cross the road by pedestrians themselves.”

Out of the 21 accidents, 13 occurred in the Northern and four each in the Central and Southern regions. Four fatalities occurred in the North while the Central, Southern and Eastern regions had two each.

Prior to the Easter period, the Malawi Police Service (MPS) said it would step up efforts in ensuring tight security and adherence to road rules and regulations to reduce the risk of accidents and other forms of crime.

Statistics from the Directorate of Road Traffic and Safety Services (DRTSS) show that last year alone, the country registered 694 accidents compared to 962 in 2016.

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