adminFreeman Razemba
Senior Reporter
The Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe has reintroduced competitions and awards for bus and truck drivers aimed at enhancing and improving their skills in order to curb road carnage countrywide, in line with the National Development Strategy 1.
So far several drivers in Harare and Mutare have participated in these Driver of the Year competitions and have won prizes.
TSCZ managing director Mr Munesu Munodawafa said the Driver of the Year (DOTY) competitions have a long history across the globe since the 1960s where awards were presented to drivers competing in motorsport.
“The Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe has previously held DOTY competitions as a means for standardizing and improving driving. However, DOTY competitions also serve as a yardstick for us to check whether drivers know the basic driving rules and how to apply them. The DOTY competitions were last held in 2018 after which they were disrupted by the Covid-19 lockdown.
“This year we aim to re-activate the tradition, and reward good driving skills and encourage good driving practice. As per our tradition, we have always targeted drivers of public transport vehicles. This year’s competitions will therefore involve rigid lorry, articulated truck, and bus drivers. DOTY competitions are a great way of enhancing our already exciting Defensive Driver Improvement Programme, commonly known as the Defensive Driving Course. These competitions are also an important way of creating awareness about road safety and crash prevention,” he said.
The rationale behind the DOTY competitions was to enhance and improve the driving skills of drivers of rigid lorries, articulated trucks, and buses in order to prevent and reduce crashes on the road.
“This is in line with our national target under the National Development Strategy 1, that is to reduce road crashes, Injuries, and fatalities by 25 percent by 2025 and 50 percent by 2030. Road crashes are a major public health and safety concern in Zimbabwe, and the DOTY competitions are an opportunity to educate the public about the importance of safe driving and the need to follow traffic rules and regulations.
“These competitions also serve as an incentive for the business sector to invest in advanced driver training methods which assists their drivers to be safe on the road. As a country, we have had an opportunity to participate in DOTY competitions in other countries such as South Africa (in 2014), Poland (in 2016), Finland (in 2018) and Belgium (2020). Due to Covid-19 related restrictions, we did not manage to conduct DOTY competitions since then. However, given the relaxation in Covid-19 related restrictions, TSCZ has decided to resume the competitions.”
He said by raising awareness about road safety and the efforts being made to improve it, the DOTY competitions go a long way in creating a culture of safety on Zimbabwean roads and helped to reduce the number of crashes and fatalities.
“This is important not only for the safety of the public, but also for the economic development of the country, as road traffic crashes have a significant negative impact on productivity and economic growth. Road traffic crashes not only take the lives of people engaged in the crash but also destroy the lives of others who rely on those involved in the crash. We are saving more than one life by improving road safety.
“As TSCZ, we have noted with concern a number of contributing factors that lead to road fatalities across the country and these include: abuse of alcohol by both drivers and pedestrians; negligence, speeding, leading to vehicle control loss and or inability to avoid hazards presented by driving situations; moving violations, for example, cellphone use while driving, not wearing seatbelt etc; dangerous overtaking at barrier lines and or overtaking in the face of oncoming traffic; defective tyres and steering especially on public and freight transport vehicles; fatigue, not resting after about 200km of travelling and overnight driving and overloading, just to mention a few,” he said.
Mr Munodawafa encouraged road users to avoid travelling at night in order to keep safe from the hazards that are mostly prevalent at night.
He said together with Zimbabwe Republic Police and other law enforcing agencies they have been making gradual progress over the years, and they continue to close the loopholes that errant motorists rely on to evade the law.
Online Reporter