adminGerald Maguranyanga Traffic Friday
It is very rational to presuppose that there is possibly not a single Zimbabwean out there who has any kind words for commuter omnibus drivers.
Many will agree that, given a choice, they would opt for a conventional bus ride instead of the usual 15-seater commuter omnibus.
A few adrenaline junkies would opt for the roller coaster-like Kombi.
Kombi drivers’ road notoriety stinks to the high heavens like their lack of bodily hygiene.
A closer look however reveals that contrary to popular beliefs, even conventional bus driver in Zimbabwe is not a saint in terms of driving habits.
The recent Unki Mine bus tragedy, which claimed four lives and left several others injured, gives tell-tale signs of a driver ferrying a full load of souls and behaving badly, just like our infamous kombi drivers.
Any mine ordinarily adheres to certain standard safety measures for its daily operations applied to any of its daily routines.
The standard Safety, Health and Environment department – common to every lawful mine worldwide – insists on thorough training and rigorous enforcement of safety measures.
Because mining is by its nature a hazardous pursuit, most corporate mining concerns do not cut corners and are quick to institute severe penalties for staff infringing any safety measures, even for seemingly minor infringements. Munhu anoenda kumba masikati machena!
Very few genuine accidents actually “just happen” for inexplicable reasons. I am sorry but at the moment Unki blatantly portrays human error; either overspeeding (for the conditions), poor brakes, driving without the necessary attention, etc.
It was reported that the National Mine Workers’ Union of Zimbabwe representative, Ernest Gumbo, fired the first salvo, alleging Unki workers, including the drivers, worked long hours – directly attributing this seemingly man-made Mutedekwe Bridge accident to the tiring hours staff endured.
That Mutedekwe Bridge is narrow is indisputable; but the unspeaking poor bridge never threw the bus off it! I wish all bridges were too wide to stop road traffic from flying off the bridge!
The Airbus is probably the only bus that legally flies. Any other bus wanting to pick up express speed in a bid to fly will face the inevitable eventuality of disaster. Zimbabwe has sadly, in very recent days, experienced a spate of bus accidents that have killed a number of people.
The spotlight needs to zero in on the conventional bus driver. You’re not likely to see a dirty, unlicensed 22-year-old loudmouth behind the wheel of a big bus. We all assume the typical conventional bus driver, who in many cases is a mature adult, would not engage in cowboy antics.
This may not be palatable to some but I want to see more institutions as a matter of policy employing more women bus drivers.
In addition to other reasons, women refrain from the testosterone-influenced behaviours that the male folk wantonly engage in.
The male driver, left to his own devices, is a shocking risk-taker that routinely engages in unnecessary bravado.
In recent days, I have observed a well-marked Eaglesvale school bus driving way over the prescribed 70km/hr speed limit on sections of Borrowdale Road.
Imagine what a guy like that would do on the open road.
A Government -owned bus, registration GBL 187, was observed by this writer a few days back at the aircraft take-off speed of 140km/hour on one of the highways. I have video evidence on my Nokia of a brand-new National Defence College bus speeding recklessly on Sam Nujoma Street
The advent of dollarisation has made it easier for many schools to acquire buses. It was unheard of in my youth for a school in Glen View or places like Mzilikazi or Dangamvura to actually buy and own a bus.
Thankfully, there has probably not been a school bus in recent years that has been involved in a major accident.
One prays that all these schools have a fool-proof protocol regarding the vetting and suitability of aspiring drivers.
We do not want to be caught napping. One of the worst, most-haunting bus accidents in the world involved our students from Regina Coeli, who were massacred by a madman bus driver. Whilst others choose to blame the curvy road for the disaster, the cold hard fact is that no road, no matter how bad, drives a motor vehicle.
The same old argument and tired rhetoric persists; “widen bridges, widen roads”; but seriously, will that stop the accidents? South Africa faces an even bigger RTA challenge than Zimbabwe.
Mzansi is classed amongst the very worst in the world in terms of road accidents notwithstanding their world-class roads. Of course, having nice wide roads is the ideal: but please, let us agree; it’s the bad attitude. It’s the human error that kills.
What chances are there that all our roads will be widened, say in the next 10 years?
Let’s deal with what we have. The days of the chain smoking, vest-wearing, foul-mouthed, slippers-wearing, unregulated driver who never updates his skills belong to history.
A well-trained, formal-wear dressing, well-monitored driver has a different attitude. Dare I say, pay the guy well, acknowledge his safe driving periodically, and you may just be onto a fantastic journey.
In command of a poorly maintained machine, in a bad mood and on a bad day, a poorly trained driver can easily send around 80 people to an early grave.
Traffic Friday implores Unki Mine management, even at CEO level, to delve into the bus calamity with a fine-tooth comb.
It is wholly unacceptable that a trained, safety-conscious mine driver would rush his driving.
Or that a corporate shuttle bus with known iffy brakes would be allowed to ferry trusting staff.
It is a good idea for heads to roll at Unki Mine and for the company to meticulously interrogate its safety procedures regarding bus transportation.
A stitch in time saves nine. Four innocent breadwinners were propelled to an early grave. Many more, seriously handicapped and traumatized, will never do shifts for Unki again, having been left to lick their wounds till they meet their Maker.
Unki couldn’t have been an act of God. (The survivors were very fortunate. In spite of the plenty rains we are enjoying in Zimbabwe, the river bed fortuitously didn’t have too water flow to choke them.
Many injured would have panicked and drowned in minutes. We would right now be speaking of another Chivake-scale disaster.)
For too long, in Zimbabwe (and Africa) we have tolerated mediocrity and blatant, unsafe road practices that launch men and women to an untimely grave.
Traffic Friday fully agrees with Mimosa Mining Company’s motto that “Zero Harm is Possible” but not with the current Mickey Mouse bus escapades we tolerate in Zimbabwe.
It’s a Friday; please keep the driving ‘happy, happy!’
Gerald Maguranyanga moderates Road Safety Africa, on www.facebook.com/RoadSafetyAfrica, an interactive community page that solicits ideas to curb road traffic accidents in Zimbabwe and Africa.
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