Govt should act swiftly on road safety measures
THE move by Government to ban crossborder and inter-city bus companies from operating between 9pm and 5am and imposition of stiff penalties for overloading, speeding and defective vehicles as part of measures to curb road carnage is a welcome development considering that many people continue to lose their lives and some sustaining varying degrees of injuries in road accidents.
The proposal which has been taken from other countries such as Zambia, which prohibits public transporters from operating after 9pm has been long overdue and has been advocated for by the Civil Protection Unit (CPU) and the Zimbabwe Cross-Border Traders Association (ZCBTA) following a series of fatal accidents such as the one that killed 43 people in June when a King Lion bus veered off the road in the Nyamakate area in Mashonaland West province and hit a tree.
Two months earlier, another fatal accident involving a cross-border transporter had occurred when a Proliner bus was side-swiped by a haulage truck, killing at least 31 people along the Harare-Masvingo Highway, near Chaka Business Centre.
On 24 August 11 people were killed in Kamativi when the lorry they were travelling in burst a tyre, veered off the road and plunged into a gorge. All the accidents occurred at night.
Four months later, after the proposal of the above safety measures to reduce road carnage, which have also been praised by many road safety advocates, it looked uncertain whether the Government was going to heed the call by CPU and ZCBTA until last week when a Government official who preferred anonymity was quoted as having said:
“The draft proposes that driving for public transporters stops at 9pm and resumes around 5am. Discussions around the issue are still underway as some are opposing the idea, arguing that it is not good for business. The proposal has been taken from other countries such as Zambia, which prohibit public transporters from operating after 9pm.”
CPU director Mr Nathan Nkomo also confirmed that their submissions have been received saying a Cabinet committee on Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Management came up with a position paper that contains a raft of measures aimed at addressing the carnage issue.
While pushing for a number of recommendations to be implemented, Mr Nkomo insisted that night driving was a major contributing factor to loss of lives hence it should be “immediately” banned.
“As a department and with views from other concerned associations, it has been noted that night driving has cost our country a lot of lives, hence, should be banned. If we could do like other countries like Zambia, where driving is prohibited after 7PM, the better,” said Mr Nkomo.
The CPU director made other recommendations such as the need for all public passenger transporters to maintain registers of all individuals on board before they depart to any destination.
“Registers would help on identification in cases of disasters. Night driving comes with a number of challenges such as limited visibility. Another concern is that when disasters occur at night, it can be difficult to reach CPU at odd hours and for CPU to start mobilising assistance and resources at night,” he said.
In the same vein, ZCBTA president Dr Killer Zivhu also threatened to take legal action to ensure buses were banned from the roads as from 9pm, if Government did not act. He said most of the people being killed in such accidents were members of his association travelling to neighbouring countries.
“The noblest thing to do is for Government to ban buses and other public transporters from travelling after 9pm until everyone is satisfied that our roads are safe for night travel,” he said.
“If Government does not ban the operators from travelling at such hours, we will approach the courts seeking an interdict. Our members are the ones affected most and the trend shows that such fatal accidents occur mainly during the night. It is not useful to continue watching such recklessness, while we lose breadwinners for so many families, who will be trying to eke out a living through cross-border trading.”
Dr Zivhu said there was need for stringent measures to safeguard lives, while Government was working on the dualisation and rehabilitation of the major roads.
In the past, there had been clarion calls for Government to cancel operating licences for bus operators involved in such fatal accidents and to impose stiffer penalties on errant drivers to act as a deterrent to would be traffic offenders.
In 2015 during his recent address at the Africa Safety Day National Commemorations in Gweru VicePresident Emmerson Mnangagwa, who is also the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs advocated for the need for stiffer penalties including long custodial sentences for errant road users saying the ministry was in the in the process of reviewing the Road Traffic Act.
“Deterrent penalties must be meted out to errant road users. If stock theft courts a minimum sentence of nine years imprisonment, why should a driver killer be fined a mere $100 and get away with murder? Road carnage destroys lives, limbs and property and it is an enemy of economic growth hence the need to punish errant drivers,” he said.
He further said the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education in conjunction with Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development were in the process crafting modalities to mainstream road safety into the national schools syllabi.
“I am enthused to hear that the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education and that of Transport and Infrastructural Development and the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe is now considering the modalities on how best road safety should be mainstreamed into the national schools syllabi,” he said.
Failure by the Government to quickly implement the above proposed safety measures or recommendations to stop road carnage can undoubtedly result in increased loss of lives in the country’s roads.
On average, close to 2 000 people die each year on Zimbabwe’s roads, translating to at least five people losing their lives prematurely on a daily basis due to road traffic accidents.
Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ) Information, Communication and Technical Manager Mr Tatenda Chinoda said in matters of loss of lives, limbs and property certain decisions have to be made regardless of whether they are popular or unpopular.
“The ban on night driving (of public transporters) is good as long as it is based on science not opinion or emotion. Night driving is twice as dangerous as is daytime driving: visibility is limited; there are some poorly trained night drivers who dazzle others with headlight glare; the tendency to overdrive headlights at night is also very prevalent; drunkdriving often happens at night; most of our major national disasters occur at night (between 9pm and 5am),” said Mr Chinoda while insisting that the risk of a fatal crash was three times greater at night.
TSCZ has been making huge strides towards raising road safety awareness through its “Fambai Kwakachena/ Hambani Kusakhanya” campaign which is aimed at encouraging people to drive during the day.
It is often said that while driving in the daylight can be hazardous, driving at night more than doubles the risk of road accidents. It is with this in mind that TSCZ thought it appropriate to warn drivers about the dangers of driving at night.
To ensure its efforts gain traction with road users, TSCZ has gone into partnership with a number of corporates such as Nyaradzo Group and Croco Motors in a bid to mobilise resources towards reducing the carnage on Zimbabwe’s roads.
The partnership extends to the production of material used during awareness campaigns such as road safety fliers; key rings to remind drivers of the value of life whenever they put their keys on the ignition, and posters and banners for distribution in government departments, offices and schools where they are being used as teaching aids.
Meanwhile, Minister for Transport and Infrastructural Development, Jorum Gumbo said although the Government backed proposals to be strict with those who violate traffic rules he however, suggested that motorists should also be extra careful and adhere to the road rules.
“Although, coming up with new laws to punish bad drivers is a noble move, people should understand that lawmaking process is not an overnight thing as it involves a number of stages. For example there is need to consult all relevant stakeholders for public hearings.
“Even though I didn’t have a report with me I can assure you that discussions around the issue (banning of night driving) are still underway.
“Meanwhile, people should also know that even if those proposals become law that will not automatically end road accidents. Given that most of the accidents are caused by human error like misjudgement that road users made leading to fatalities there is however, need by drivers to be disciplined on the roads by avoiding speeding and overloading. They should drive roadworthy vehicles and to be always sober when on the wheel,” said Minister Gumbo.