Let’s drive carefully to save lives

VEHICLES are a necessary social and economic tool but they can destroy lives if drivers become reckless on the roads.
This week, it is necessary that we divert from the usual talk of new car models and so forth and discuss the continued loss of lives on our roads.

At least 785 people have been killed in road traffic accidents countrywide in the first half of this year. A total of 7 114 people were injured during the same period out of a total 19 284 accidents that occurred.

What it means is that an average of 107 road accidents occurred daily since the beginning of the year.

Public service vehicles also contributed heavily to the death toll. With such alarming figures it is important that we remind each other of the need to observe road rules and regulations while driving.

It is best that we take caution and ensure that we travel safely.

More often than not, kombi drivers have been blamed for causing most of the accidents on the roads. They are accused of driving dangerously by wantonly disregarding traffic regulations.

Most motorists will agree with me that it is not safe to travel in the city with a commuter omnibus in front of you. The driver can stop abruptly to ferry passengers at undesignated points without signalling.

Kombi drivers can change lanes whenever they feel like without checking in the mirror whether there are other vehicles approaching. This happens so often and other motorists always complain.

I was driving into town the other day with my Grade Zero son. As I was ascending the Sakubva Musika steep slope on my way into the Central Business District, a kombi driver who was parked at the TM Musika bus terminus, pulled out of the parking in an instant and encroached onto the lane I was. I applied emergency brakes. Luckily we had our safety belts on, lest we were going to smash our heads on the windshield.

In frustration I followed the kombi and it stopped at the next bus stop. I disembarked from my car and approached the kombi driver. I asked him why he was driving dangerously, endangering the lives of people and he stubbornly said that’s the way to drive in urban centres.

I had Mutare Central traffic police office telephone numbers and I contacted the officer-in-charge who responded quickly and sent cops.

The cops arrived and I stated my case. We drove to the charge office and the driver was charged and put into cells.

When they checked the kombi, the police officers also discovered that it had no fitness papers and route authority.

The driver also did not have defensive driving certificate and no medical examination.

The officer-in-charge praised me for doing a good job and said it was a good example of a citizen’s arrest on offending kombi drivers.

I have narrated this ordeal as a way of trying to encourage passengers and fellow drivers to report reckless drivers.

There are so many blocks on our roads and when you see an offending driver, it is best that you report him/her at the next block.

Maybe we can save lives and reduce these accidents.