RTSA warns law breakers
By SANDRA MACHIMA The Road Traffic and Safety Agency (RTSA) has warned truckers abrogating Statutory Instrument (SI) 76 that restrict night driving that they would lose their operating licenses.
RTSA spokesperson Fredrick Mubanga said truckers and Public Service Vehicles moving in the night would have their licences suspended should they continue to defy the Statutory Instrument (SI) 76 that constrains the movement of any freight or goods vehicles moving in the night.
Mr Mubanga maintained that Statutory Instrument (SI) 76 that restricted Public Service Vehicles and truckers moving in the night still stand and wondered why some operators wanted to break the law with impunity.
He said the SI76 was law that was aimed at reducing accidents in the night, following the increase in PSV accidents moving in the night.
Mr Mubanga stated that currently, the road accidents had reduced by 16 percent in the country from January- June this year, following various measures that had been put in place, saying who would found would have themselves to blame.
“Firstly I wonder why even those operators allow their drivers to move in the night and the agency will not relent to suspend the licences of those truckers and operators abrogating the law,” he said.
He said the agency had managed to impound some vehicles who were moving outside the stipulated time, and that would face the law.
Mr Mubanga said the agency would intensify enforcement operations especially on the Great North road where there were a lot of trucks and buses coming from the Copperbelt and Nakonde.
“We are exploring other means of ensuring reduced road accidents, in which the road safety management program throughout the major highway lanes,” he said.
Mr Mubanga explained that all the measures that were put in place would allow the agency not only to depend on road roadblocks to monitor vehicles, but instead the introduction of technology operations would be ideal.
“RTSA may not be everywhere at any time, and therefore all those modalities we are putting in place will help the agency to track the moving vehicles in a bid to meet the target of reducing the road accidents by 50 percent by 2020.