Heavy police presence on highways

TRAFFIC safety police officers have been deployed on major highways throughout the Easter holidays.

Speaking at the launch of the road safety campaign for the Easter and Independence holidays, Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe board chairperson, Kura Sibanda, said roads should not be graveyards.

“This Easter and Independence holidays, we will witness increased volumes on our roads and our land borders since it is our first holiday, after the uplifting of lockdown restrictions. Despite the relaxation of Covid-19 measures, we encourage our drivers and road users to adhere to the rules of the road.

“Many lives are lost due to those who choose recklessness and undermine the rights of others, with their conduct.”

He said the majority of those who perish were the youths. “It is truly a tragedy that the majority of the losses in road accidents are the youths who are assumed to be driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, resulting in overspeeding.

“The road safety campaign objective is to reduce accident road fatalities by 25 percent by the Year 2025 and 50 percent by the Year 2030.

“It shall no longer be the Government’s responsibility to provide safety on our roads but It is now a strong partnership from all pillars of road safety management, like Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP),Vehicle Inspectorate Department (VID), among others,” said Sibanda.

“This upcoming holiday, we will have 18 teams of road safety officers and the ZRP placed throughout the country, on all major highways, who will be enforcing road laws compliance.”

VID deputy director, Martin Musengezi, urged road users to comply with the road laws during the holidays.

“Motorists should check their vehicles first before embarking on a journey and avoid using cellphones whilst they are driving,” said Musengezi.

“Avoid night driving ,overspeeding and celebrating holidays before reaching the destination, that is drinking when driving,” he said.