Pedestrians in Namibia have been warned not to drink and walk after it was revealed police will breathalyse anyone involved in a collision with a vehicle. 
 
 In a bid to crack down on alcohol-related road accidents, the Windhoek City Police will start treating pedestrians in the same way as they would drivers, by breathalysing them at the scene of an accident. 
 
 Most accidents involving pedestrians happen as punters pile home from busy bars Credit: GETTY 
 
 Police spokesperson Edmund Khoaseb told The Namibian that most accidents involving pedestrians happen at the weekend, particularly late at night when people are staggering home from the pub. 
 
 “Most of the time, the victims will be coming from bars and under the influence of alcohol, which makes it difficult for them to fully concentrate on the road,” he said. 
 
 Khoaseb added that some inebriated pedestrians do not adhere to the rules of the road, such as crossing at designated points. 
 
 According to the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (MVA), between January 1, 2016 and October 4, 2016, 147 pedestrians were killed and 832 were injured on Namibia’s roads. That’s quite high for a country of just two million inhabitants. 
 
 A hangover from the German colonial era, perhaps, Namibia is one of the thirstiest nations in Africa. According to the World Health Organisation, only Gabon and South Africa record higher rates of alcohol consumption (although Namibians still tuck away less booze per capita than most European nations). 
 
 The capital, Windhoek, is a smart, laidback city known for its colonial-era architecture, interesting street names (think Robert Mugabe Avenue; Fidel Castro Street) and lively watering holes, which, from now on, are perhaps best explored by taxi. ||||| THE Windhoek City Police will in future test pedestrians involved in road accidents for alcohol levels in their bloodstreams. 
 
 This is a standard procedure regularly enforced on drivers involved in road accidents. 
 
 
 
 City Police spokesperson Edmund Khoaseb said on Wednesday that a large number of road accidents are a result of negligence by both pedestrians and motorists. 
 
 
 
 He said breathalyser tests will be conducted on pedestrians who survive the accidents. 
 
 
 
 Khoaseb said most road accidents involving pedestrians occur over the weekend, particularly late at night after bars and other drinking outlets have closed. 
 
 
 
 “Most of the time, the victims will be coming from bars and under the influence of alcohol, which makes it difficult for them to fully concentrate on the road,” he noted. 
 
 
 
 Khoaseb said some pedestrians also do not adhere to the rules of the road, such as crossing at designated points, or looking out for oncoming traffic. 
 
 
 
 He added that drivers are sometimes inattentive too, do not stop at pedestrian crossings, or are distracted while driving, sometimes at high speeds, especially in the vicinity of schools. 
 
 
 
 He said the City Police will furthermore embark on an intensive campaign to educate pedestrians on how to cross the road responsibly, and pedestrians found crossing the road where there is no provision for that will be fined. 
 
 
 
 Khoaseb said most of these accidents are avoidable if drivers and pedestrians are more attentive when using the roads. 
 
 
 
 On 20 January, two women were hit by the same vehicle, and sustained slight injuries when they were crossing the Western Bypass. 
 
 
 
 A day later, a 26-year-old man died on the spot after he was run over by a car near the Mix settlement outside Windhoek. 
 
 
 
 On 22 January, a four-year-old girl sustained slight injuries when she was run over by a vehicle on the corner of Lucia and Eveline streets. 
 
 
 
 On Wednesday, a seven-year-old pupil at Tobias Hainyeko Primary School was run over by a car along Julius Nyerere Street. He died later in hospital. 
 
 
 
 The Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (MVA) in October last year said 147 pedestrians were killed on Namibian roads, while 832 were injured in 901 pedestrian-related accidents between 1 January 2016 and 4 October 2016. 
 
 
 
 – Nampa
– Police in Namibia's capital are cracking down on a somewhat unlikely group, reports the BBC, following road accidents that are blamed not only on intoxicated motorists but on tipsy pedestrians. Police spokesman Edmund Khoaseb tells the Namibian that people who survive a run-in with a car will be given a Breathalyzer test. He said most accidents happen on the weekend, when "the victims will be coming from bars and under the influence of alcohol, which makes it difficult for them to fully concentrate on the road." There were 900 pedestrian-related accidents in Namibia last year, nearly 150 of them fatal, per the Namibian. A drunken police officer was charged in 2009 with the traffic deaths of two men. With 2.1 million inhabitants, the country has one of Africa's highest rates of alcohol consumption (though lower than in the developed world), per the World Health Organization. The Telegraph calls the capital "smart, laid back" and known for colonial-era architecture. Windhoek's "lively watering holes," the paper notes, "from now on, are perhaps best explored by taxi." (Namibia is trying radical measures to curb poaching.)