Zambia-Malawi bus victim buried

THE cyclist who was hit and killed by the Zambia – Malawi bus in Chipata on Monday, was buried at his village in Chipata yesterday.

Mr Jackson Banda was buried at Zala village in Chikando ward, in Chief Nzamani area.

Mr Banda was killed in the early hours of Monday when he was hit by the Lusaka bound ZambiaMalawi bus registration number ALE1915, some six kilometres from Kapata Bus Station in the city centre.

And Collins Chailwa Luhanga, Road Traffic and Safety Agency (RTSA) Eastern provincial manager, paid tribute to the deceased, whose death had shown that there was need for his organisation to do more awareness on road safety.

Mr Luhanga told the Daily Nation in an interview that RTSA would continue educating communities on traffic safety to reduce on road carnages in the city.

He said he took every case of accident seriously, adding that the challenge was with cyclists who were liable to observe traffic rules without reservations.

“Cyclists are not exempted from obeying traffic rules and regulations. And the Road Traffic Act No. 11 of 2002 is not only for motorist but for all road users.

“Government has done everything possible to provide functional road infrastructures which are systematically segregated from cycle tracks, sidewalks to clearly marked main roads to help every user to be able to utilise the facilities without hindrance,” Mr Luhanga said.

It was observed that cyclists in Chipata did not respect traffic rules while vehicles overloaded passengers without caring for their safety.

“Levels of compliance in Chipata are very disappointing. It is unfortunate that cyclists here will just take the position of defying set goals. As an agency we are doing our level best.

“It is disappointing that cyclists have just exempted themselves from observing set regulations,” he said.

Mr Luhanga said it was a duty of everyone to respect traffic rules, adding that road safety was a collective task requiring everyone to play their roles at all times to avoid accidents.