adminWe appeal to drivers and all other road users to please take extra care on the roads especially now that we are in the festive season and people are in a merry mood. The two road accidents along the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Road left nine other people injured including another soccer legend Peter Ndlovu, brother to Adam.
Road carnage has become a perennial killer in Zimbabwe, killing hundreds of people each year and leaving thousands more maimed. Zimbabwe is losing human capital to these road fatalities as professionals and workers in various fields of the economy are having their lives ended on the roads, rendering their families and the country poorer.
Accident statistics in the country are reaching alarming levels and the onus is on us all road users to be cautious and save lives. Even farmers living on the highways should play their part by keeping their animals away from the roads. Donkeys, cattle and goats normally stray their way into these highways causing accidents in the process.
According to police, at least 28 929 road accidents were recorded countrywide from January to October this year. The figure shows a nine percent increase compared to 26 500 accidents recorded during the same period last year.
Last week, the Officer Commanding Traffic Section in the Zimbabwe Republic Police Assistant Commissioner Kenny Mtombeni warned that road traffic accidents were likely to increase during the festive season.
Assistant Commissioner Mtombeni urged motorists, passengers and other road users to observe the rules and regulations of the road during and after the festive season. We urge the nation to take seriously the advice from the police and other authorities charged with ensuring safety on our roads. Failure to observe traffic laws normally increases during the Christmas and New Year holidays leading to accidents, loss of lives and damage to property.
Drivers should desist from speeding and only overtake when it is safe because most accidents are a result of speed and misjudgments when overtaking. It is also crucial for drivers to ensure their cars are in good functioning order. Journeys must always be planned and avoid travelling at night at all costs, except maybe in cases of pressing emergencies. The state of our roads makes night driving an enormous task.
Statistics from the traffic police show that road accident fatalities have increased from 35 deaths per thousand accidents to 45 deaths per thousand accidents between 2002 and 2010. Last year, a total of 147 people were killed in road accidents during the festive season.
Assistant Commissioner Mtombeni said a total of 1 785 accidents were recorded during the festive season last year. At least 118 of these accidents were fatal, killing 147 people and injuring 1 304.
In the previous year in 2010, police recorded 22 454 road accidents, 1 390 deaths and 12 580 injuries.
These statistics are worrisome and we call upon every Zimbabwean to play their part and help reduce or even eradicate the carnage on our roads. Most of the accidents can be prevented and lives saved if people avoid drinking and driving, talking on the cellphone while behind the wheel, speeding, failure to observe traffic laws such as not giving way and errors when overtaking.
Online Reporter
Bongani Ndlovu