daniel chigunwe
Crime Reporter
Police are compiling lists of motorists who have been arrested more than once during the ongoing operation targeting those violating traffic laws and repeat offenders for minor offences will have to go to court, rather than just deposit fines at police stations.
So far nearly 100 000 motorists have been arrested countrywide during the blitz which is targeting vehicles driven in breach of the law, including unregistered and unlicenced vehicles, pirate taxis and pirate kombis, and drivers committing traffic and parking offences as the authorities continue to step up efforts to ensure compliance with road laws.
Driving and parking offenders are also targeted under the special operation, particularly in urban centres where indiscipline has been rife in recent months. The operation also targets vehicles whose import duty was underpaid.
Other stakeholders involved in the blitz aimed at ensuring that vehicle owners comply with the requirements of the law, include the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe, Vehicle Examination Department, the Insurance Council of Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe National Roads Administration, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, and city and town councils.
Flouting laws had become routine, particularly in urban areas and the blitz was launched to ensure vehicle owners and drivers comply with the requirements of the full range of traffic, registration, licensing and tax laws.
Motorists and operators reclaiming their vehicles if these were impounded have to obtain all the required vehicle documents to be able to be cleared by the Vehicle Theft Squad and the Vehicle Inspectorate Department, among others, including Zimra.
Then the motorist or owner has to pay the fines for all the offences they were facing.
In a statement, national police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said the operation was continuing until there was compliance.
He said during the Senior Officers Conference held last week, senior officers met officials from the National Prosecuting Authority and Judicial Service Commission. It was agreed that all repeat offenders should be taken to court for prosecution.
“It was agreed that all repeat offenders should be taken to court so that they will be dealt with decisively. So far police stations are updating their records over the matter,” Asst Comm Nyathi said.
He said it did not matter if the repeat offender was a private motorist or public-transport motorist. They will all be prosecuted with a magistrate determining the penalty. He urged all drivers to comply with all road rules and regulations.
“The ZRP reports that a total of 99 738 arrests have been effected during the on-going operation, ‘Tame the Traffic Jungle’. Of these 2 346 arrests have been made on vehicles without route permits while 30 102 arrests have been made on illegal pirate taxis (mushikashika).
“A total of 467 motorists have been arrested for reckless driving, while 7 553 people have been arrested for touting. Meanwhile, 1 875 vehicles have been impounded for moving on the roads with no registration plates,” he said.
“This operation has been necessitated by the lawlessness on the roads, especially in major cities and towns where some drivers are openly causing chaos and congestion by driving the wrong way down one-way roads in the face of oncoming traffic, through red robots and reckless lane violation,” he said.
Police were also concerned with the reckless conduct by pirate vehicles, mushikashika and some registered kombis who are carrying passengers from undesignated points, while contravening the country’s laws with impunity.
The police are also taking action on heavy vehicles which are criss-crossing residential suburbs in towns and cities while clearly disregarding the use of outlying designated routes as required by national regulations and local authority by-laws.
The operation will also account for unroadworthy vehicles and public service vehicles which do not have legal documents such as insurance, route authority and certificate of fitness. Vehicle owners who leave broken-down vehicles on the road while blocking traffic with some using tree branches and stones as warning signs instead of proper reflective triangles will not be spared.
Police would also take action against illegal fittings on motor vehicles, for example, bar lights used in violation of Statutory Instrument 129 of 2015 Road Traffic (Construction, Equipment and Use) Regulations.
Farming equipment such as tractors and combine harvesters driven on highways disregarding relevant regulating statutes will also be impounded.
Online Reporter