adminClemence Manyukwe News Editor
NEARLY 30,000 people were killed in road accidents between 1997 and 2013, a parliamentary report has said.
In its recent report, the 23-member Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Transport and Infrastructural Development which is chaired by Zanu-PF Epworth MP Ambassador Amos Midzi said 639,273 accidents were recorded during the period, killing 29,198 people and injuring 286,836 others. The committee recommended that spot fines must be applied on foreigners only and locals should be given seven days to pay.
Eighty-five percent of accidents in the country were blamed on human error. MPs listed 12 other causes of accidents in the country that include bad state of roads, speeding, drunken driving, fatigue, use of cell phones when driving and going through red robots.
The use of second hand tyres, stationary and defective vehicles as well as stray animals on the roads, inadequate road signage and markings as well as lack of traffic enforcement were also cited.
The lawmakers’ report recommended that the government should increase fines charged for traffic offences so that they are deterrent. The authorities were also urged to introduce traffic courts where routine offenders are charged and licences are endorsed or cancelled.
“The committee learnt that drivers especially of public service vehicles do not follow driving regulations and lack discipline and patience. In Zimbabwe most drivers are driving ‘aggressively’, negligently and without due care or paying attention. This reckless driving by both licensed and unlicensed drivers has resulted in many road accidents,” said the report.
The committee said the corrupt issuance of driver licences and certificates of fitness by the Vehicle Inspection Department as well as corruption at roadblocks also contributed to road accidents. In order to reduce corruption, MPs said VID and ZRP traffic officers must periodically be transferred.
The report said the volume of traffic has increased significantly in Zimbabwe while the road infrastructure remains the same and has deteriorated with little rehabilitation.
“For example the Chirundu-Harare-Beitbridge Road poses serious safety challenges. The road is too narrow for the large volume of traffic. The country’s road network is dilapidated and needs resurfacing. Lack of road shoulders to the already narrow roads and potholes has worsened the situation,” added the report.
The Zimbabwe National Roads Administration was urged to provide perimeter fences on all highways using money earned from toll fees as the presence of stray animals was causing accidents.
MPs recommended that whenever there is a road construction project, a perimeter fence should be erected and sensitisation campaigns against theft of the fence done.
Local authorities were criticised for failing to provide adequate ranking facilities, a situation that has seen commuter omnibuses opting to operate at undesignated places which are not suitable for picking and dropping off passengers. Although operators were paying rank fees, municipalities were said to be failing to provide facilities with toilets, shades or bins resulting in passengers shunning the designated points.
“They (operators) requested councils to provide adequate ranks with proper public amenities. The other option is for the government to go into a public-private partnership if councils cannot provide these facilities,” further said the report.
Touts were also said to be a problem threatening the safety and property of passengers.
Online Reporter