24 killed on national roads

A total of 129 people were injured in 237 road accidents recorded from Friday up to yesterday morning.
The accidents have been attributed to speeding, driving without due care and attention, misjudgment and overtaking errors.
Police spokesperson Superintendent Andrew Phiri yesterday said road accidents and the number of people killed during the two holidays this year had declined.
At least 34 people died during the same period last year, while 207 others were injured in 357 accidents.
Supt Phiri said a number of factors contributed to the decrease.
“The first is that we had a pre-holiday awareness campaign which we conducted with various stakeholders educating the public and motorists,” he said.
Police also deployed heavily on major highways.
“Drivers should continue obeying all traffic regulations when driving on the roads,” he said.
During the holidays, Masvingo, Matabeleland North, Midlands and Harare provinces recorded the highest number of deaths, with four each. Mashonaland West, Mashonaland Central and Mashonaland East recorded two deaths each.
Matabeleland South and Manicaland had one death each, while Bulawayo did not record any death.
Supt Phiri said no serious crimes were recorded during the holidays.
The Zimbabwe Passenger Transport Organisation, a grouping of public transport owners, commended public service vehicle drivers for exercising caution during the holidays.
ZPTO chairman Mr Ramuel Machube said in a statement yesterday that awareness campaigns played a major role in the reduction of the accidents.
“Our campaign with the Zimbabwe Republic Police Traffic Section in a bid to save lives on Zimbabwe’s roads has started bearing fruit,” he said.
“We will continue with this campaign even during off peak periods to ensure our roads are accident-free.”
Bus owners helped with educating drivers and conductors on road accidents.