admin“The number of accidents and the people killed were recorded between March 25, when schools closed and today (yesterday) at around 9am,” he said.
He said during the same period last year, 52 people had died while 269 others were injured in 291 accidents that were recorded.
Supt Nyathi said police impounded 179 unroadworthy vehicles and issued a total of 8 487 tickets to motorists for committing various traffic offences.
He said Midlands recorded the highest number of deaths with 11, Manicaland 10, Mashonaland East eight, Harare and Masvingo had five deaths each, Matabeleland South five, while Mashonaland West and Mashonaland Central had three deaths each.
One person died in Matabeleland North province and no casualties were reported in Bulawayo during the holidays.
“The main cause of accidents is human error and we are concerned. We have also noted that haulage trucks are ferrying people instead of goods and most of them are involved in accidents, killing people,” Supt Nyathi said.
He urged the operators to desist from such practices as police would not hesitate to arrest them.
Supt Nyathi also warned some of the private vehicles who were now plying the roads without the required documents.
He said some of them had been involved in most of the accidents that have killed people.
He said most of them were operating during the night in order to evade police roadblocks.
Supt Nyathi said eight people died on the spot while two others were injured when a Toyota Ipsum they were travelling in was involved in a head-on collision with a bus along the Harare-Masvingo Road during the holiday. He said the accident occurred at around 11pm near the 220km peg.
“It is alleged that the driver of the Ipsum who also died, tried to avoid a cow which was on the road and encroached into the opposite lane resulting with the head-on collision,” Supt Nyathi said.
He said the eight who were in the vehicle died on the spot while two others were injured.
According to police two passenger who were in the bus sustained injuries.
The Traffic Safety Council Zimbabwe this year partnered with different stakeholders such as churches, students and other traffic operators to campaign against accidents during the Easter holidays.
Police also launched campaigns to reduce road carnage and have pledged to continue clamping down on defective vehicles.
Online Reporter