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Rosenthal Mutakati Ghetto Blast
Fierce increases in accidents and a surge in the number of people losing life and limb in preventable circumstances bids everyone to make sincere and genuine efforts to curb human-vehicular traffic conflict which threatens to decimate the earth.
It is not unusual to find people chatting, kissing and dancing in the middle of the road, oblivious of the dangers posed by other inattentive road users.
For unknown reasons, most people — the old and the young included — find it convenient to exchange phone numbers in the middle of the road.
Juicy stories are shared right there, forcing motorists to literally swerve to avoid running over people.
“Mombe yasekuru yakabereka tsiru inemakwamba matsvuku nemachena,” you hear people saying to each other in the road when a similar story would actually carry the same weight and urgency off the road.
Women of marrying age often-times see no harm sharing notes about Peter, Harry and James in the road. Kwadzinorohwa matumbu ndiko kwadzinomhanyira.
Schoolchildren feature prominently among the culprits.
You see them playing all sorts of games, including teasing each other, right in the middle of the road.
Some of them tie their jerseys over their heads, affecting visibility, hence the many times they walk into oncoming vehicles and sometimes get run over by cyclists. Only this week, The Herald ran a front page picture of schoolchildren who were playing while others were lying on their backs while awaiting transport back home on the edge of a busy road in Harare.
Among these, some were playing cards while others were sucking off the sweetness of lollipops in this hot weather.
The previous day, the paper had published yet another photograph of people who were relaxing on the shores of Lake Kariba with a hippo charging at them. One of the adventurous journalists, Isdore Guvamombe, took the picture.
In Glen Norah, a suburb awash with mulberries, it is now almost common to find schoolchildren lining their pockets with the fruit and even forget about checking the road before crossing.
Such situations are however, not confined to this land.
In Ukraine, a woman was killed and her boyfriend’s legs cut off when they were hit by a train while being intimate on a railway line.
Police said the pair had embarked on their early morning romp after a night out boozing.
The woman, who was in her 30s, was pronounced dead at the scene while her 41-year-old lover was taken to hospital with both legs severed. They had been on their way home from a party at a friend’s house when they were hit by amorous, and fatal, desires.
An official said: “The man told police they had failed to overcome their natural passion when walking home . . . and wanted to experience an extreme sensation near the railroad tracks.” To make matter worse, officers are considering charging the man for trespassing on the track after the couple’s sex session in the Ukrainian city of Zaporozhye.
In 2008 a pair having sex on a railway track in South Africa were killed by a freight train.
The driver later told police he saw the couple from a distance and repeatedly hooted “but they continued with their business”. The Kinross railway station in Mpumalanga is no longer in use, but freight trains do occasionally run through it. The area is more often used as a haven for prostitutes and their clients, police told South African newspaper Sowetan.
Police identified the couple as Mduduzi Michael Bandezi, 28, and Sibongile Radebe, 25, the paper said.
Mr Bandezi died immediately while Ms Radebe died later at hospital, Superintendent Abie Khoabane said.
They pair reportedly met earlier that night at a local tavern.
When Bandezi’s brother told him it was time to leave at about 11pm, Bandezi ignored him, leaving instead with Radebe later on. “
The spot was littered with scores of used condoms when police arrived at the scene of the gruesome death of an alleged prostitute and her client on Friday night,” the Sowetan said.
The tiny town is known for the huge number of prostitutes operating on its outskirts.
The majority of the sex workers are from rural parts of Mpumalanga and converge on the town near Evander to service motorists and truck drivers.
Gentle reader, to avoid unnecessary loss of life, experts say pedestrians can increase their safety in the road environment by making themselves more visible and using safe routes and road crossings where possible.
Drivers can help make the road environment safer for pedestrians by scanning for pedestrians at crossings and intersections, and being aware of the potential presence of pedestrians affected by alcohol around entertainment venues and at festive seasons.
Drivers should adapt their speed in locations where there is a high amount of pedestrian activity.
Almost everyone is a pedestrian at some stage and, as such, is a vulnerable road user.
Over the last five years, nearly one in every 10 road deaths in South Australia was a pedestrian.
Road rules stipulate that vehicles driving in or out of private property or a road related area must give way to pedestrians on the footpath.
It is always best, however, to be cautious and make sure you make eye contact with the driver.
It is always best to cross at pedestrian crossing if there is one available.
If there is no crossing, always cross the road by the shortest and safest route, make sure you can be seen and allow plenty of time to cross.
Some main roads have raised medians to help you cross the road in two stages.
It is advisable to only cross at pedestrian lights when the light is green. If you are crossing with a green light and the light changes to flashing red, you must cross to the other side of the road, or the nearest traffic island designated for pedestrians, as quickly and safely as possible. It is an offence to walk without reasonable consideration for other road users.
Road users should have respect for each other and avoid unnecessary rage in the road.
Some motorists and kombi drivers are in the habit of shouting at pedestrians after narrowly missing them, while some of them alight from cars to beat up the not-so-wise road users.
New communication gadgets that have hit the market have brought with them danger for the owners and other road users.
There are instances when a person is run over while on Whatsup by a driver who is equally distracted by the same programme. Teaching people to do the proper thing is not a bad idea.
Knowing how best to use the road and how to behave in roads helps preserve life. Play your part.
Inotambika mughetto.
Online Reporter