Under their Savannah non-alcoholic brand, Distell Namibia recently ran the #BeTheChange media campaign, encouraging the Namibian public to “shift the gears of change” in compliance with road safety measures.
Hearing about a new motor vehicle accident on social media, radio, or television, or experiencing one for yourself on the road in Namibia is no longer unusual-no matter how tragic. Some accidents happen by chance, but according to a study by the Motor Vehicle Accident (MVA) Fund in 2020, people are responsible for 72% of all car crashes in Namibia.
These statistics should help Namibians understand the importance of reducing risky behaviours on our roads. It is at times like these that the private sector must step in and supplement the Namibian government’s efforts to improve road safety in the country.
Beverly Jandrell, Distell’s trade marketing manager, said, “We’re a socially responsible company. Namibia has a road safety problem, so we created this campaign to raise awareness and hopefully inspire long-term behaviour changes.”
Conceivable change
Distell Namibia used images that parallel its iconic Savannah non-alcoholic lemon motif to show how “fresh” it is to follow road safety rules, like staying under the speed limit, and how “whack” it is to not do so.
The MVA Fund report further indicates that road safety violations include actions such as speeding, unsafe overtaking, distractive driving, and a general disregard for the rules of the road, but positively highlights an average annual decrease of 8% in the number of road crashes from 2016 to 2020. People can change, but continued change requires constant efforts and maintenance, says clinical psychologist Edwina Mensah-Husselmann from Geluk Psychology Services in Windhoek.
“Even if we managed to change our destructive behaviours, there are times when we might slip back into those patterns. Stress and other triggers can cause this. Sometimes destructive behaviours are rooted in traumatic experiences, which require further therapy to dig deeper into those memories and unwanted behaviours.”
She said people should always be hopeful, have faith, and be positive about change and managing conditions.
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