Motorists, be wary of road rage

In 2015, those that were in attendance during a court session at Marondera Magistrates Courts listened in awe as State prosecutor Lovemore Musaairanwa chillingly chronicled how Tavaziva Taremba (34) strangled Tawanda Chizeya before stabbing him once on the stomach with a broken bottle.
According to the prosecutor, the attack was vicious and were it not for the swift action by onlookers who rushed the victim to Marondera hospital, the injury could have been fatal. The cause of the brutal attack was an unlikely incident – a quarrel after the duo had been involved in a minor road accident.

Taremba was sentenced to a two-year jail term for attempted murder.
Only recently, CAPS United players Method Mwanjali and Archford Gutu appeared before a Harare magistrate facing attempted murder and malicious damage to property charges respectively. It is alleged that in a fit of road rage, Mwanjali stabbed the victim twice in the stomach. Gutu is alleged to have damaged the victim’s car.

The players’ cases are still pending.
In another road rage incident, a Bulilima man ended up being admitted into the intensive care unit at United Bulwayo Hospitals after an enraged driver severely assaulted him.

In recent years, there has been a noted increase in the number of drivers that are involved in road rages that ended up with victims severely injured. Road rage can lead to violence, injuries and arrests.

In a random survey conducted by this paper, most Harare drivers admitted that they carry with them such weapons as iron bars, whips and knobkerries, purportedly for “self defence”.

Commuter omnibus and taxi drivers say they conceal weapons under vehicle seats and in glove compartments.
Although most drivers maintained that the weapons are only used when they are attacked by robbers, the weapons have, in most instances, often been used against unsuspecting passengers during minor misunderstandings.

Most commuter omnibus drivers attributed the upsurge in road rage cases involving public service vehicle drivers to the environment and conditions in which they work under.

“We work for long hours since we will be chasing financial targets. The roads are also heavily congested, resulting in fuel wastage. At the end of the day, we get tired, frustrated and stressed. In my opinion, the majority of the road rage cases are stress-induced,” said Tonderai Ndihana, who plies the Harare-Norton route.

The increase in vehicle population has resulted in Harare roads being heavily congested, resulting in drivers flouting road rules.
Mr Tafadzwa Goliati, president of the Passenger Association of Zimbabwe, said drug and alcohol abuse fuel road rage. He advised drivers to exercise restraint and use “common sense” when they are on the roads.

“We are not saying that commuter omnibus drivers are to blame. However, the majority of kombi drivers abuse alcohol and drugs and are occasionally involved in fistfights. Drivers must exercise restraint and use common sense whenever they are faced with problems on the road,” Mr Goliati said.

According to Mr Goliati, drugs are readily available at all commuter ranks and most drivers will be driving under their influence.
He also blamed young and inexperienced drivers since they are not patient and cannot tolerate slow older drivers.

Mr Tichawana Nyahuma, a lawyer, attributed road rage to over-reaction by drivers. “After an accident, most drivers overreact especially when they think that they are in the right. As the police always say, people must not take the law into their own hands,” Mr Nyahuma advised.

Mr Nyahuma said there are now laws that deal specifically with road rage in Zimbabwe. “From my knowledge, there are no laws that deals specifically with road rage. I urge drivers never to try and resolve issues among themselves. Instead, they must report accidents to the police as soon as they happen. It is against the law not to report accidents to police,” he added.

He said those that do not report accidents to police will not be able to claim insurance. Ms Chiedza Shumbamhini, a sociologist said most drivers are not able to handle or deflect anger. “Due to the economic and social problems, most Zimbabweans are stressed. Most drivers cannot contain or deflate anger, resulting in road rages,” Ms Shumbamhini said. She said there has been a proliferation of anger management courses.

According to Ms Shumbamhini, driving in itself is stressful.
Stress, construction delays and detours, distracted driving, loud music and slow driving are some of the factors that are listed as fuelling road rages. Some drivers make obscene gestures to other drivers whilst others deliberately drive too close to others.

Research has shown that almost one in five British drivers experience stress because of driving. As an alternative, researchers advised drivers to use public transport, share cars or cycle.

In Zimbabwe, a number of transport companies are offering anger management courses to their workers and one such organisation, Swift Zimbabwe, is giving tips on how drivers can avoid road rage on its website. An online publication, SafeMotorist.com reports that 66 percent of traffic fatalities are caused by road rage, also known as aggressive driving.