Early Sunday morning, it was reported in some online newspapers that a road accident in Jarumehkoto left eight children dead and a score of others seriously injured. This was when a truck ran into them.
It has almost become common to read about reports of road accidents and many lives are being lost as a result. When these accidents occur, the victims simply become part of the statistics and their families and loved ones are left with the eternal grief.
It is high time the causes of these accidents were studied so that, having identified the reasons for their occurrence, polices and mechanisms are put in place to eradicate, or at least, reduce them.
The loss of even one life is one too many. This is more so when the victims include children, which is the case in this latest accident.
Perhaps it will not be too bad to start from how licences are obtained in the country. It has been said by many that the acquisition of license is far too easy and as such many people who should not have license actually do.
Sometimes, licenses seem to be too easy to come by and as such young people who look like they are too young to have a license do actually have them. The licensing department should do more due diligence before issuing licenses.
Another possible reason for the increase in the number of road accidents could be drug abuse. The surge in drug related cases should be a pointer to the fact that it is possible that many drivers might have been on drugs when they had accidents.
