Report and Video by Joep Nel
Public outrage about the disastrous speedbump decision on the Western Bypass in the capital city of Namibia, Windhoek, is near unanimous, with the Minister of Transport, Veiko Nekundi, apparently stubbornly refusing to reconsider the draconian decision, which is now exposed as one where various role players were completely sidelined.
Traffic officers of the City of Windhoek were caught with their pants around their ankles, and senior executives of Windhoek and the transport industry — that is the heart of the B1 Highway that feeds the main arteries of the Namibian economy and the movement of goods and people to all corners of the country — were not informed or asked for an opinion.
Various studies by acclaimed traffic engineers dealing with Windhoek and Namibia’s traffic challenges have tabled findings over years and decades on the economic impact of speedbreakers on highways that were specifically designed for faster movement of traffic and point out the Hosea Kutako B1 development and the projects completed and underway around Windhoek and its famous B1 highway at a cost of billions of dollars to ease traffic flow and promote trade and economic development for all.
One study even pointed out that the losses from wear and tear, tyres and accidents involving speedbreakers can exceed the money that the state is earning from licences.
Freeways are designed for free-flowing traffic around the growing city, where the small stretch of speedbreakers undermines what investments of billions of dollars in road infrastructure over the years attempted to achieve, with Namibia marketing itself as a SADC transport hub.
The speedbumps drop speeds from 120 km/h to nearly a complete stop, which has a massive impact on heavy transport vehicles.
Every stop-and-accelerate cycle burns extra fuel. For trucks, that adds up fast. Namibia, ironically, with the failure of its rail system under the Nekundi ministry, almost exclusively relies on road freight. If trucks on the B1 Windhoek-Walvis Bay, Zambezi, Noordoewer or Buitepos border routes lose 30 minutes per speedbump, that results in higher transport costs that are added to the price of everything imported or exported. Ironically more accidents were reported in the past five days on the specific stretch of road that any other five day period the past decades.
Speedbumps on the highway burn additional fuel and damage suspensions, tyres and axles, while police and emergency services are severely affected by bottlenecks, as experienced.
For government, there are higher maintenance budgets for buses, ambulances and police vehicles that wear out faster.
The accidents and safety paradox is that, ironically, unexpected speedbumps on freeways cause more accidents: rear-end collisions when someone brakes hard, loss of control for trucks and motorcycles, ambulances and emergency vehicles being delayed, and worse health outcomes. This again adds to the economic cost.
For trade, freeways with speedbumps signal poor infrastructure planning. Logistics companies factor that into route costs. For tourism, “slow roads” worsen the visitor experience.
In Namibia specifically, the Roads Authority only installs traffic-calming measures where speed limits are less…
More accidents were reported since the speedbreakers were installed than during the same period without them, and scattered glass and body parts are reminders of less safety, while the protected pedestrians are now bolder in crossing where no policing is in sight or available, as city police are not allowed and the national traffic authority has no manpower.
Nekundi faces the unbelievable distinction of a minister elevating a speedbump to a parliamentary issue that raises serious questions about collective decision-making.
