While everyone is in a hurry trying to wrap up their shopping and enjoy festive celebrations, it is important to keep road safety top of the mind, as the streets are busier and drivers are distracted by their holiday to-do lists. Its starts with checking the pressure of your vehicle’s tyres! The Motor Vehicle Accident Fund of Namibia (MVA) in collaboration with Amarok Club and Private Sector Road Safety Forum (PSRSF) held a training on tyre safety ahead of the upcoming festive season.
The training that took place from the 5th to the 8th of November 2020 hosted activations along the B2 route from Windhoek to Swakopmund to educate drivers and vehicle users on tyre safety with special emphasis on tyre pressure and tyre tread depth.
Sidney Boois, MVA Fund’s Senior Manager for Accident and Injury Prevention said that correct air pressure in a tyre helps to distribute the weight of the vehicle evenly across the tyre’s tread pattern so that the tyre and the vehicle itself is at its most stable. During this training, a number of seventy-five (75) drivers were engaged on their fitness to drive while their vehicles were checked for tyre fitness.
“Quite a number of vehicles inspected are not ready for festive season travels, especially those in public transport, as they had worn out and improperly inflated tyres,” Boois said.
As road safety ambassadors, the MVA educated drivers of vehicles whose tyres were found to be unfit on the important role tyre pressure plays in ensuring their safety while travelling. They were urged to always maintain good tyre pressure as it is also a good way to avoid road accidents.
This intervention ended with the Amarok Club Namibia AGM in Swakopmund, where the Fund further engaged the members on the importance of self-policing and road safety regulations and guidelines.
