By Wezzie Gausi:
Malawi has registered fewer cases of road accidents in the first half of 2023 than during a corresponding period last year.
A Malawi Police Service comparative analysis, which we have seen, indicates that there has been a 4 percent and 16 percent decline in the rate of people involved in road accidents and people killed in the road accidents, respectively.
A 2022 comparative analysis indicated that 2,728 cases of road accidents were recorded between January and June.
However, the number has dropped during the corresponding period this year, after 2,627 cases of road accidents were registered across the country.
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In terms of fatalities, the analysis indicates that 565 people died in 476 fatal road accidents last year.
However, there has been a remarkable reduction this year, with 380 fatal accidents recorded and 475 people losing their lives.
When contacted, Malawi Police Service spokesperson Peter Kalaya said law enforcers have been keen on reducing the number of road accidents and people that die in road accidents.
“As such, the decrease can be attributed to intensified enforcement of road traffic regulations by police traffic officers and sensitisation of road users on their conduct when using public roads,” Kalaya said.
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A further analysis of the comparative analysis indicates that the Central West Region recorded the highest number of road accidents, at 1,014, representing 39 percent of all accidents, while the South East Region registered the least at 66 road accidents, representing 2 percent.
The report further indicates that most accidents happened on weekends and were attributed to speeding, drink-driving and unnecessary overtaking.
