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Mollet Ndebele, Sunday News Reporter
A MAN from Gwanda has come up with an innovative product of a reflector belt that can be strapped around the neck of livestock in a bid to curb accidents caused by animals along major highways.
The development comes after the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe has announced that accidents caused by domestic livestock straying into major roads were on the increase. The 26-year-old innovator, Mr Liberty Vellah, said the device is manufactured in such a way that drivers can spot the reflective belt 500 metres away.
“It’s a belt that you put around the neck of a cow or any livestock. It starts to reflect from about 500 metres away. This gives the driver adequate time to slow down and stop after seeing the reflective belt. The belt can be written on so it also enables those who would have hit the cow to call the owner thus it also helps with the identification of the cow and its owner,” said Mr Vellah.
He added that the innovation was targeting major roads where cases of road accidents due to animals have been recorded.
Some of the major accidents caused by animals have been recorded in Gwanda, Nkayi, Plumtree and Victoria Falls roads.
“Usually motorists hit the animals during the night. Night-time fatalities are more prevalent than daytime fatality rate. In order to reduce the possibility of these accidents, we have decided to put reflector belts around the necks of all animals,” said Mr Vellah.
The Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe has noted that the high number of domestic livestock straying into the roads was making driving along major roads in Matabeleland region risky. About 1 825 people die annually due to road accidents while 13 870 injuries are recorded every year.
Online Reporter
Bongani Ndlovu