adminChristmas Day, celebrated on 25 December to mark the birth of Jesus Christ, brings a lot of excitement to many, as it is associated with giving and feasting.
There is a lot of merry-making during the day, as people spoil their loved ones with all sorts of presents.
Some take the opportunity to visit their rural homes while others go to leisure resorts for holiday making.
Zimbabweans living abroad also visit their loved ones to enjoy the day with them.
However, in the past few years, the period leading to Christmas and the day itself has brought sorrow and mourning to the unfortunate families because of the accidents on our roads.
Many people are losing their lives during this period while travelling to different destinations.
As of yesterday, the police reported that the festive season death toll has risen to 101 after 31 more people died in separate accidents across the country between Sunday and yesterday afternoon.
Eighteen of the deaths were recorded in Manicaland Province when a truck carrying 64 people veered off the road killing the 18 on the spot while 46 others were injured, some of them seriously.
The death toll on our roads is frightening this year compared to the same period last year, which is between 15 December and 24 December. Last year, 39 had died during the period under review.
So we wonder what should be happening on our roads.
What is more worrying is that national police spokesperson Superintendent Tinaye Matake said the figures of the accidents were not conclusive, as they were still updating.
“These figures are not conclusive as we are still updating. We would want to encourage members of the public to desist from boarding private vehicles and to be patient and wait for public transport vehicles, which are designed in such a way that they reduce the impact of injuries,” said the police spokesperson.
“We also discourage speeding and overloading. Owners of private vehicles should not use their vehicles to pirate to avoid accidents on the roads.”
With those words, we call upon the police to be thorough on the roads to avoid the carnage. The police should not leave any stone unturned in carrying out their duties to avoid more blood shed. They should not hesitate to throw behind bars those who are found drunk while behind the wheel, driving defective vehicles, pirating and speeding.
Transport owners should also stop the tendency of overworking their drivers, as that leads to accidents and loss of lives.
We also seek to advise those who would be enjoying Christmas at their homes that they should drink responsibly with either friends or relatives.
In the past, people have killed each other at parties held at homes, at bars and bottle stores over petty issues like spilling one’s beer.
Zimbabweans are peace-loving people and we call upon everyone to practise the spirit of tolerance.
We should take Christmas to be what it is supposed to be, a time of merry-making and the day should live to its tradition.
Online Reporter