Police take steps to reduce traffic accidents
POLICE in Mashonaland West province want to reduce road traffic accidents by 5 percent, amid growing concerns over the increase in road carnage this year.
In an interview, Mashonaland West police spokesperson Inspector Clemence Mabgweazara said although he could not release statistics, there was a marked increase in road traffic accidents in the province.
“We hope to reduce traffic accidents by five percent basing on previous year’s figures,’’ he said. “Most of the accidents are due to negligent driving, coupled by night driving, which mostly result in fatalities.”
Insp Mabgweazara said police would maintain a presence, especially on highways, to avoid the continued loss of life.
He said police were working on an efficient traffic management system that sought to finalise investigations of at least 75 percent of dockets in the shortest possible time.
This also include detection of at least 30 percent of all hit and run cases committed in 2018.
Several people have died in recent accidents across the province, including nine who died on the spot and another one on admission at Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital after a Chinhoyi-bound commuter omnibus burst a rear tyre at the Mapinga Great Dyke Pass.
In another accident, six people died when a Toyota Ipsum collided with a Toyota Rav 4 at the 64 kilometre peg along the Harare-Chirundu Highway.
At least three people died on that same day along the same highway after a driver failed to negotiate a curve near Gwebi College, resulting in the vehicle veering off the road and landing on its side.