ROAD CRASH AND CLAIMS

Transcription

1 RE THUSA SECHABA KGATELOPELE Both the driver and the passenger were thrown into the windscreen when this car was in a high-speed collision. Wearing seatbelts would have saved them. MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT FUND ROAD CRASH AND CLAIMS ANNUAL REPORT DECEMBER MVA Fund is a Botswana partner in the world Decade of Action for Road Safety -. PLAY YOUR PART TOGETHER WE CAN SAVE LIVES Proud holder of the Deloitte Best Organisation to Work For award

2 Joining the Decade of Action Each year about.3 million people die on the road and to million more are injured. Unless action is taken, road crashes are predicted to become the fifth leading cause of death in the world by the year, with.4 million fatalities a year. The United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety - is a vital global attempt to slow this tragic trend. Botswana commits to the Decade of Action with the firm resolve to redouble its own road safety efforts. Motor Vehicle Accident Fund as the national body charged with promoting road safety, while compensating, supporting and rehabilitating those affected by crashes will play its full part in this great cause.

3 MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT FUND ROAD CRASH AND CLAIMS ANNUAL REPORT 3 DECEMBER

4 MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT FUND Road Crash and Claims Annual Report Contents Mission, Vision and Values Foreword Section Background 8. Data collection method. Road safety country profile.3 Current road safety trends Table : Crash trends 98- Figure : Annual trends 98- Figure : SADC safety performance Figure 3: Botswana safety performance.4 MVA Fund business. Socio-economic role of MVA Fund.6 MVA Fund offices Section Road crashes by police district. Crashes by police district Table : Crashes by police district 6-. Rank of crashes for police districts.3 Fatalities per thousand crashes Table 4: Fatalities per thousand crashes.4 Fatal crashes by police district Table : Fatal crashes by police district Table 6: Fatalities by police district Figure 6: Average fatalities by police district. Fatal crashes and fatalities Table 7: Fatal crashes and fatalities 6- Figure 7: Changes in fatal crashes and fatalities.6 Serious injuries by police district Table 8: Serious injuries by police district Figure 8: Serious injuries by police district.7 Casualties by police district Table 9: Casualties by police district.8 Crashes, fatalities and serious injuries trends Figure 9: Trends 6-.9 Casualties by junction type Table : Fatalities by junction type Table : Serious injuries by junction type. Crashes by corridor Table : Crash type by corridor Section 3 Time and environment 3. Casualties by hour of the day Table 3: Fatalities by hour of the day Table 4: Serious injuries by hour of the day 3. Crashes by hour of the day Table : Crashes by hour of the day 3.3 Fatalities by month Figure : Fatalities by month 3.4 Crashes by day of the week Table 6: Crashes by day of the week Table 7: Casualties by day of the week Table 8: Crash type by light conditions Section 4 People involved in crashes 4. Fatalities by age group

5 Table 9: Fatalities by age group 4. Fatalities by road user type and age Table : Fatalities by road user type and age Table : Serious injuries by road user type and age 4.3 Road user by class of severity Section Vehicles involved in crashes 8. Vehicle types involved in crashes Figure 4: Vehicle types in crashes. Vehicle manoeuvre Table 3: Crashes by vehicle manoeuvre Table 4: Vehicle manoeuvres by number of crashes Section 6 MVA Fund claims analysis 3 6. Claims lodged with MVA Fund 987- Figure : Claims lodged and total casualties 6. Claims lodged by MVA Fund office Figure 6: Claims lodged at offices 6.3 Claimants by region Table : Claimants by region 6.4 Claims by month and office Table 6: Claims by month and office Section 7 MVA Fund road safety initiatives 3 7. Community Road Safety Grant Scheme 7. Youth road safety clubs 7.3 Occupational road risk seminars 7.4 Public education and road safety campaigns Figure 7: Public education by MVA Fund offices Section 8 MVA Fund milestones towards pillars of the 33 Decade of Action for Road Safety - 8. Build road safety management capacity 8. Influence road user behaviour Figure 9: Activities to influence road user behaviour 8.3 Improve post-crash care Figure : Action taken by MVA Fund to improve post-crash care Section 9 Investment in road safety improvement 3 and trauma prevention Road safety investment Towards a Safe System approach Section Conclusion 36 Speed management Drinking and driving Safer roads and roadsides Annexure 37 Figure : Vehicles registered by stations Table : Vehicles registered by DRTS offices Claimants by villages Foreign claimants by country of origin Table : Crash severity by police district and station Police districts and stations Table 3: Possible causes of crashes 3

6 MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT FUND Road Crash and Claims Annual Report Mission, Vision and Values Mission Mission To enhance the quality of life by promoting road safety, compensating, rehabilitating and supporting those affected by road crashes. Vision Best chance to normal life Values Customer focus Integrity Teamwork Innovation We provide support to our customers in order to heal the wounds inflicted by road crashes. We do business in a transparent way and treat everyone with respect. Our environment provides opportunities for us to develop team spirit and work together to create more value for our customers. We continually improve what we do and how we do it. 4

7 ROAD SAFETY COMPENSATION REHABILITATION SUPPORT Foreword Road crashes represent a wasteful expenditure of any nation s valuable resources. The cumulative cost to our country in terms of the loss of productive human resources, the loss and damage to material resources including vehicles, the personal and national medical, administrative, legal and other costs is huge. And it is rising. Statistics show that 397 people were killed and a further 494 were seriously injured on the road in Botswana in. These figures present a sorry picture, largely affecting the productive sector of the population. A high 6% of the road traffic fatalities during the year were people in the -44 age group the most productive of the community, largely comprising educated and trained individuals holding key positions in the workplace. These figures represent human suffering, bereavement, grief and loss which in the majority of cases are avoidable. It is of paramount importance that all road users understand their obligations, by obeying the rules of the road and giving consideration to others. We all share the road, and we have a responsibility to each other to make the road safe. Even when one has the right of way it is essential to yield in the interests of safety. After all, everybody involved in a road crash suffers, not just the wrongdoer. This report not only provides a deep insight into the magnitude of the problem of road traffic crashes in the country, but it is intended also to inspire a change of attitude and behaviour. The fact is that crashes can be prevented but to achieve this demands attention to common sense issues like speeding, use of seatbelts, drinking and driving, disregard of traffic laws, use of cell phones, carelessness, impatience, lack of courtesy, night driving and fatigue on long journeys. It is my conviction and high hope that with all the commendable efforts that continue to be made we will be able to report positively on the road traffic safety situation in subsequent reports. The goal of preventing death and injury on the road must be reached at all costs, and soon. We will achieve this because we owe it to the nation since we are accountable for it. As individuals we owe it to ourselves and our families to stay safe. As road safety stakeholders, our task is to create the context and awareness to allow Botswana to become one of the safest countries in the region. When we all take responsibility, these aspirations will be realised and we will have a real sense of pride in how we use our roads. Share the road go with Botho! CROSS KGOSIDIILE Chief Executive Officer MVA Fund

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10 MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT FUND Road Crash and Claims Annual Report SECTION Background. DATA COLLECTION METHOD This report was researched and compiled by Motor Vehicle Accident Fund. different data sources were used, the main one being the Botswana Police Traffic Crash Statistics Division Database. The other data sources used were the MVA Fund claims database, the Population Projections Report (Central Statistics Report), the Department of Road Transport and Safety Vehicles Database and the World Health Organisation 9 Global Status Report on Road Safety.. ROAD SAFETY COUNTRY PROFILE Road crashes continue to be among the leading causes of death and injury worldwide. They are currently ranked 9th according to the World Health Organisation Report (9). The report warns that if appropriate action is not taken now, road crashes will rise to the third leading cause of death and injury globally by. It is against this background that the World Health Organisation declared road crashes as a major public health problem. Many countries do not regard road crashes as a major problem because they do not have clear strategies to reduce traffic crashes. In March the United Nations General Assembly declared - the Decade of Action for Road Safety. The intention is to stabilise road crashes by increasing activities conducted at national, regional and global levels. The Decade of Action goal is to reduce road crashes by half a major challenge that can only be achieved through guided, coordinated and concerted action. In summary, the overall goal of the Decade of Action for Road Safety is to halt or reverse the rise in road fatalities around the world by stepping up road safety activities at the national level. This will be attained through: Setting ambitious targets for reducing deaths by ; strengthening the global architecture for road safety; increasing the level of global funding for road safety and putting in place a global funding mechanism; increasing human capacity for road safety within countries; providing technical support to countries using successful experiences from others; improving the quality of data collection at the national, regional and global levels and Monitoring progress on a number of predefined indicators at the national, regional and global levels including both the public and private sectors. To achieve these objectives, countries are encouraged to implement the Decade framework comprising five pillars road safety management, infrastructure, safe vehicles, road user behaviour and post-crash care. Road deaths and injuries impose a huge economic burden on developing economies, amounting to -3% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in most countries (WHO 9). Botswana loses around 48 people to road crashes annually, with another being seriously injured. Most of these deaths and injuries can be avoided if appropriate interventions are put in place. Reports from Botswana Police Traffic Division show that most of these crashes are caused by human error, which shows clearly that they can be avoided. Statistics also show that most deaths and injuries occur at the weekend, especially at month-end and over public holidays..3 CURRENT ROAD SAFETY TRENDS The high level of road trauma in Botswana imposes huge economic costs on the country. In addition, deaths and disability cause great emotional and financial stress to the thousands of families affected. Crashes are largely preventable. Each life saved and each serious injury avoided reduces pain and suffering and achieves important economic savings. Table Crash trends 98- Population Year Crashes Casualties Fatalities Registered projections Crashes Casualties Fatalities Fatalities vehicles -3 / veh / veh / veh / pop

11 BEST CHANCE TO NORMAL LIFE Table Crash trends 98- (continued) Year Crashes Casualties Fatalities Registered Estimated Crashes Casualties Fatalities Fatalities vehicles population / veh / veh / veh / pop This table illustrates Botswana s traffic safety performance for the past 9 years, showing fatalities per vehicles and fatalities per population. In 98 the number of people killed in road crashes per population was 9.9. The figure went up in the following years, peaking at 3.4 in and going down to. in. Fatalities per vehicles stood at 6.8 in 98 and went up between 98 and 99, with the highest at 4. in 989. The graph below shows that between and the two traffic safety indicators moved downwards an indication of good performance compared to the previous years. Fatalities per vehicles declined at a faster rate than fatalities per population. Two factors could be attributed to the faster decline in fatalities per vehicles. The first factor could be that there was a sharp increase in the vehicle population while fatality rates remained constant, and the second could be that the data did not allow for deregistration of scrap or inactive vehicles from the system, thereby inflating the number of vehicles on the road and as a result distorting this performance indicator. Figure Annual Trends 98- (Fatalities/ vehicles and fatalities/ population) Fatalities/ vehicles Fatalities/ population 9

12 MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT FUND Road Crash and Claims Annual Report SECTION Background (continued) The 7 traffic safety performance of the countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) ranked Botswana second in the region for the number of people killed in road crashes per population. South Africa was at the top with 3.7 people killed. The lowest countries for road fatalities per population were Malawi, Madagascar and Democratic Republic of Congo. Figure SADC traffic safety performance 7 (Deaths/ population) DRC Madagascar. Malawi Tanzania Mozambique 7.8 Zimbabwe.6 Zambia.7. Angola Mauritius 6. Seychelles 7.7 Namibia..6 Lesotho Swaziland Botswana RSA Fatalities per population for Botswana were between 4.9 and. in the years 6-. There were fluctuations over the years, indicating that the country s performance was volatile. The movement of this traffic safety indicator did not show constant reduction or increases, these movements strongly suggests that the past road safety initiatives did not have constant impact in road safety performance of the country. Figure 3 Botswana traffic safety performance (Deaths/ population)

13 PLAY YOUR PART TOGETHER WE CAN SAVE LIVES.4 MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT FUND BUSINESS The 7 MVA Fund Act changed the operation and focus of the Fund. The Act gives more emphasis to road safety education and injury prevention and medical treatment and rehabilitation. These changes were aimed at reducing costs for the Fund and enhancing the quality of life of those affected by road crashes. During MVA Fund implemented some initiatives in the Injury Prevention Department and Case Management section with the aim of reducing road traffic crashes and enhancing the quality of life for those affected by road crashes. The Injury Prevention Department intensified road safety education during the year. The implementation of major activities included media advertising, roadside education campaigns, road safety sponsorships and occupational road risk workshops for organisations with large fleets of vehicles. The Fund spent P on road safety activities during the year, compared to P in the previous year. In the Fund financed two community groups through its Community Road Safety Grant Scheme, with the aim of encouraging local road safety initiatives and educating communities on the importance of road safety. The grant scheme cultivates community participation in the prevention of road crashes within their localities. The grant scheme was born out of the fact that different parts of the country experience different road crash situations, which can best be dealt with at the local level because the communities themselves are best placed to identify specific problems in their areas. The MVA Fund Injury Prevention Department, through the research function, produced the 9 Road Crash and Claims Annual Report, the first publication of its kind in the country. Its appearance marked a critical milestone in the national effort to save lives on the road. The report presented highly detailed road crash statistics at all levels for local and regional planning, providing stakeholders with critical information for planning, implementing and monitoring. The document demonstrated that effective road safety management must be derived from thorough road safety research. The success of the first MVA Fund Road Crash and Claims Annual Report promoted the publication of this second Report, for the year.. SOCIO-ECONOMIC ROLE OF MVA FUND In the Fund intensified the process of rehabilitating those affected by road crashes. At year end the total undertaking client base was 4 7. A total of 86 seriously injured claimants, the majority of them with multiple injuries, were rehabilitated. The Case Management Department sent 8 claimants to different specialists for medical assessments and treatment. The use of money set aside for medical purposes increased from 4.% in 9 to 36.% in. This was attributed to the increase in the level of awareness of the Fund s products and services..6 GEOGRAPHIC FOOTPRINT OF THE FUND MVA Fund continues to take its services out to the people. The Fund s offices are strategically located in regions with high traffic volumes and other traffic safety indicators such as the number of crashes and the population in the region. In the Fund opened its fifth branch office, at Selebi- Phikwe. The office is assisting those affected by crashes in Selebi Phikwe and the surrounding areas. Figure 4 MVA Fund offices and support structures SHAKAWE GUMARE MAUN TOTENG KASANE SOWA MVA FUND OFFICES DISTRICT ROAD SAFETY COMMITTEES TUTUME MASUNGA FRANCISTOWN GHANZI LETLHAKANE TONOTA CHARLES HILL SELEBI-PHIKWE SEROWE PALAPYE BOBONONG KANG MAHALAPYE HUKUNTSI TSABONG LETLHAKENG MABUTSANE MOSHUPA MOLEPOLOLE MOCHUDI JWANENG GABORONE RAMOTSWA TLOKWENG KANYE LOBATSE GOODHOPE

14 MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT FUND Road Crash and Claims Annual Report SECTION Road crashes by police district. CRASHES BY POLICE DISTRICT The table below shows recorded crashes for the past five years by police districts, and total and average recorded crashes for the same period. The average number of recorded crashes for the past five years was 9 83 and only two years (6 and ) during the period fell below the five-year average. The highest number of crashes, totalling 4, was recorded in 8. Police districts with all-time high crashes recorded were Gaborone West, Gaborone, Serowe and Francistown. Police districts recording the lowest number of crashes were Kasane, Ghanzi, Tsabong and Lobatse. Table Reported crashes by police district 6- Police District year total -year average Gaborone West Gaborone Serowe Francistown Kanye Molepolole Kutlwano Mochudi Selebi-Phikwe Maun Letlhakane Lobatse Tsabong Ghanzi Kasane Total Figure Total reported crashes by police districts 6- (-year average) Gaborone West Gaborone Serowe Francistown Kanye Molepolole Kutlwano Mochudi Selebi-Phikwe Maun Letlhakane Lobatse Tsabong Ghanzi Kasane

15 ROAD SAFETY COMPENSATION REHABILITATION SUPPORT. RANK OF CRASHES FOR POLICE DISTRICTS 6- The distribution of total crashes recorded annually for the past five years shows that Gaborone West, Gaborone and Serowe Police Districts were the top three. The rankings in Table 3 below were derived by dividing the total number of crashes recorded in the district by the total national recorded crashes. The rankings show that in terms of total recorded crashes the top police districts are Gaborone West, Gaborone, Serowe, Francistown and Molepolole. This points to the need for more resources to be directed to these districts in order to cut down on the rate of road crashes in the country. However, it is important to note that although these districts record high numbers of crashes it does not necessarily follow that fatalities and serious injuries are also high in these districts. Tsabong, Ghanzi and Kasane police districts recorded low annual crashes for the past five years but they are the top three districts in fatalities per recorded crashes over the same period. This indicates that although these districts are low in terms of total reported crashes, they experience a higher proportion of crashes that are fatal, or vehicle occupancy is slightly higher in them compared to other districts. Table 3 Police districts by rank of crash Police District Gaborone West Gaborone Serowe Francistown Molepolole Kanye Kutlwano Maun Mochudi Selebi-Phikwe Letlhakane Lobatse Tsabong Ghanzi Kasane.3 FATALITIES PER THOUSAND CRASHES Table 4 illustrates that in the past five years the average number of people killed per recorded crashes was 4. This means that to achieve the Decade of Action for Road Safety goal of reducing the total number of people killed by half (or ), the total annual recorded crashes should be reduced to at least 47 by the year. It is important to note that police districts have different levels of risk in terms of deaths and serious injuries. The table shows that Kasane, Maun, Lobatse, Serowe, Ghanzi and Tsabong recorded high deaths per thousand recorded crashes in. 3

16 MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT FUND Road Crash and Claims Annual Report SECTION Road crashes by police district (continued) Table 4 Fatalities per thousand crashes by police district Police District Kasane Maun Lobatse Tsabong Ghanzi Serowe Molepolole Selebi-Phikwe Francistown Mochudi Kutlwano Letlhakane Kanye Gaborone West Gaborone Total FATAL CRASHES BY POLICE DISTRICT 6- The table below shows that annual recorded fatal crashes for the past five years ranged between 3 and 37 in the years 6-. A comparison of fatal crashes to fatalities shows a positive correlation between the two. When fatal crashes go up fatalities also go up. Total recorded fatal crashes in 6 were 3, resulting in 49 deaths. Total recorded fatal crashes went up to 369 in 7, resulting in 47 deaths. On average, more than one life is lost for every fatal crash. This shows a clear correlation between fatal crashes and fatalities. Police districts with high fatal crashes are Serowe, Gaborone West, Gaborone, Kutlwano, Molepolole, Kanye and Mochudi. This calls for specific interventions or road safety strategies for these districts. Table Fatal crashes by police district Police District Kutlwano Serowe Gaborone Lobatse Maun Ghanzi 9 8 Kasane Letlhakane Tsabong Selebi-Phikwe Molepolole Mochudi Gaborone West Kanye Francistown 9 9 Total

17 BEST CHANCE TO NORMAL LIFE Table 6 Fatalities by police district 6- Police District year total -year average Gaborone West Gaborone Serowe Kanye Francistown Molepolole Kutlwano Selebi-Phikwe Maun Mochudi Lobatse Letlhakane Tsabong Ghanzi Kasane Total Figure 6 Average fatalities by police district Serowe Gaborone west Mochudi Kanye Molepolole Kutkwano Gaborone Selebi-Phikwe Letlhakane Lobatse Maun Francistown Kasane Ghanzi Tsabong. FATAL CRASHES AND FATALITIES 6- This table illustrates fatal crashes, fatalities and the proportion of fatalities to fatal crashes for the past five years. It shows that on average a fatal crash claimed more than one life and the range was between.4 in and.347 in 7. The proportion of fatalities to fatal crashes shows that a slight change in fatal crashes results in a significant change in fatalities. Table 7 Fatal crashes and fatalities 6- Year Fatal crashes Fatalities Fatalities/fatal crashes Figure 7 on the following page shows that between 6 and 7 fatal crashes increased by 47, resulting in an increase of 68 deaths. Between 7 and 8 fatal crashes went down by 4 and this resulted in a reduction of 4 fatalities. Fatal crashes in 9 went up by 7, resulting in an increase of deaths, and in there were 4 fewer fatal crashes and 78 fewer deaths.

18 MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT FUND Road Crash and Claims Annual Report SECTION Road crashes by police district (continued) Figure 7 Changes in fatal crashes and fatalities Change in fatal crashes Changes in fatalities.6 SERIOUS INJURIES BY POLICE DISTRICT The table below shows that Serowe Police District recorded the highest number of serious injuries in the past five years, followed by Gaborone West, Gaborone, Mochudi and Selebi-Phikwe Police Districts. The total annual recorded casualties for the period ranged between about and. Table 8 Serious injuries by police district 6- Police District year total -year average Gaborone West Gaborone Serowe Kanye Francistown Molepolole Kutlwano Selebi-Phikwe Maun Mochudi Lobatse Letlhakane Tsabong Ghanzi Kasane Total

19 PLAY YOUR PART TOGETHER WE CAN SAVE LIVES Figure 8 Total reported serious injuries by police districts 6- (-year average) Serowe Gaborone west Mochudi Gaborone Selebi-Phikwe Kutlwano Maun Kanye Molepolole Letlhakane Lobatse Francistown Kasane Ghanzi Tsabong.7: CASUALTIES BY POLICE DISTRICT The five police districts listed on the table below recorded the highest number of casualties during the years 9 and. Gaborone West led, followed by Serowe, Gaborone, Kutlwano and Mochudi. All these police districts, which accounted for more than half of all fatalities, are along the A corridor. Table 9 Casualties by police district and station FATALITIES SERIOUS MINOR Police Station Kutlwano Tatitown Matsiloje Tonota Sub total Mahalapye Palapye Serowe Machaneng Martinsdrift Shoshong Maunatlala Sub total Broadhurst Tlokweng Central Borakanelo Sub total

20 MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT FUND Road Crash and Claims Annual Report SECTION Road crashes by police district (continued) Table 9 Casualties by police district and station (continued) FATALITIES SERIOUS MINOR Police Station Mochudi Dibete Sikwane Olifants 7 Sub total Mogoditshane Gaborone West Ramotswa Naledi Sir Seretse Khama Airport Sub total : CRASHES, FATALITIES AND SERIOUS INJURIES TRENDS The crash trends below show the traffic performance for the past five years. Total crashes, fatalities and serious injuries did not change significantly between 6 and. The total number of recorded crashes stood at in compared to 7 3 in 6. The number of crashes moved upwards between 6 and 8 and dropped between 8 and. Fatalities and serious injuries followed a similar trend. Although an increase in total crashes cannot result in the same increase in both fatalities and serious injuries, it is clear from the statistics that when total crashes go down both fatalities and serious injuries go down too. Figure 9 Crashes, fatalities and serious injuries trends Fatalities Serious injuries Total crashes.9 CASUALTIES BY JUNCTION TYPE 6- Sections of road without junctions accounted for most fatalities during the past five years. In 6 people killed on non-junction sections of the road accounted for 8.3% of the total, and in 7 this rose to 9.%. The non-junction sections accounted for 83.3%, 87.4% and 87.4% in 8, 9 and respectively. It is evident that more fatal crashes take place on open roads and corridors than on roads with junctions and traffic controls. This clearly points to the need to target these roads more vigorously and effectively. 8