adminduring the merry-making December.
Sadly, over the years the festive period has been re-defined largely into a period of mourning due to an increase in fatal accidents that blight many families’ spirits.
In the 2010-2011 festive period 126 people were killed in road accidents while last year 129 people died in 102 road accidents during the festive season. It is our view that many of these accidents could be avoided and the impact of many reduced if motorists adhere to road rules.
The nation on Sunday woke up to sad news of an accident that claimed the life of former Warriors striker Adam Ndlovu and a female passenger and left his younger brother Peter seriously injured.
Elsewhere, members of the Utakataka Express who were coming from the Unity Gala in Gokwe, were also seriously injured when they were involved in an accident along the Kadoma-Harare highway among many other accidents.
It would appear the cause of the weekend accidents were tyre bursts that saw the drivers losing control of the vehicles and veering off the road.
While we mourn with the families of those that lost their loved ones recently through road accidents and wish the injured a speedy recovery it is important that we also draw useful lessons from the circumstances around which the accidents happened so that we can prevent a recurrence.
High temperatures in some places, coupled with high speed and heavy loads can lead to accidents through tyre bursts while wet roads during this time of the year are another hazard that motorists should be on the lookout for.
The volume of traffic continues to increase daily in the run-up to Christmas and there is a definite need for caution on the roads and to maintain recommended speeds and even lower than the recommended speeds in wet weather.
It is unfortunate that lives are already being lost, but we would like to take this opportunity to urge public transport operators especially to adhere to road regulations and desist from setting unrealistic targets for their crews, a development that sometimes results in speeding as the crews try to meet their employers’ monetary targets by having as many trips as possible.
Many of the country’s major roads are undergoing refurbishment and this means that drivers have to exercise caution when driving along these stretches.
It has been shown over the years that the human factor plays an important part in the occurrence of accidents hence the need for motorists to be in the right frame when driving. Some motorists drive for long distances without rest and risk falling asleep behind the wheel, a development that could cause accidents since such drivers can encroach into oncoming traffic.
Standard checks on all vehicles have to be carried out before undertaking journeys to avoid problems on the way since it is not the duty of the police to point out defects on cars, but for the owners to spot and fix them for the safety of all.
We are aware that there is already a heavy police presence on our roads. Our appeal is that the heavy presence should produce results through flushing out unroadworthy vehicles instead of corruptly allowing such vehicles to drive past and later on endanger the lives of the people.
Our people should also desist from offering our police bribes.
We should all strive to make this festive season a happy one.
That is the form of distinction that the nation can live with, a time of joy and reunions. It all starts with adjusting our individual behaviour and being determined to respect other road users, and ultimately the sanctity of life.
The more than 100 people that lost their lives last year are not just statistics, but vital cogs of families and our country as well.
Online Reporter