Road accidents, what next?

roads due to a number of accidents that have occurred in recent weeks that have involved public buses and commuter omnibuses.
There has been a wide range of reasons that have been advanced as causes of these accidents. Some have been attributed to fatigue, human error, careless driving, drunkenness, tyre bursts, and mechanical faults such as faulty suspension.
This is happening despite the presence of the Zimbabwe Republic Police Traffic Section, the Zimbabwe Traffic Safety Council and the Vehicle Inspection Department on the roads.
Why can’t the VID impound defective vehicle at a time when Environmental Management Agency is flexing its muscle to deal with vehicles spewing out excessive emissions?
Our suggestion is that they should have a standard checklist of things they are required to attend to on their vehicles. These include the type of tyres on the car, the exhaust system, tyre size and type as per the manufacturer, recommended lights, exhaust system, confirmation of suspension check, vehicle licence, etc.
The frequency of grieving people due to loss of relatives, friends and associates is painful.
A story is told of a man of the cloth who would tell grieving women at every funeral that he presided over that they should grieve no more as the Lord Almighty had taken his flower and that their beloved was now in the lap of Jesus Christ. This was his routine over a long period. Five years later he lost his 18-year-old daughter whom he loved so much in a tragic accident.
So the women gathered at his house where he was weeping. The women said, “Pastor don’t worry as the Lord has plucked your favourite flower and she is sitting on the Lord’s lap”.
Upon hearing this, the pastor confessed that he had only been saying this since it had not happened to him but since it was his own loss such consolation was of no comfort to him.
The purpose of this little story is to demonstrate that some stakeholders are reluctant to act since the lives lost do not affect them but they will only realise the need to act if they lose a family member or relative.
Early this year the City of Harare had promised plans were underway to create a parking space for commuter omnibuses and we are now approaching the end of year and there has been no movement.
Since most of the recent accidents have been a result of tyre bursts we feel its essential to visit the issue of tyre marks.
It is common to see a tyre marked 245/70 R 16 or 165/70 R 14. The numbers vary depending on the size of the tyre. It is important to know that in the case of the example above the 245 means the width of the tyre in millimetres (mm) and this is same with the next example where we have 165. The 70 in simple terms means is a percentage of width. The “R” means that the tyre is radial, 16 or 14 as the case and this indicates the rim size.
It is important that this should be checked at all roadblocks. There are some speed rating marks for radial tyres. Please adhere to that at all times because there is a relationship between the speed and the size of the tyre.
If the radial shows a mark such as PR 14 the P means that the tyre is suitable for speeds up to 150km/p and R is radial. In addition, what you should look for is the other speed markings “Q” for speeds of up to 160km/h, “R” for speeds of 170km/h and “S” for speed of 180km/h. “T” refers to speeds of up to 190km/h and “U” for speeds of up to 200km/h.
The list goes on and it is in your interest to know that and we do not claim to be the authority in this regard and refer to the manufacturer.
These speed ratings are a guideline and the maximum speed should be equal to or greater than the vehicle’s maximum speed.
Kindly check and see that your vehicle has correct type of tyres.
Let’s meet again for more Obel tips.