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Mutsawashe Mashandure
Herald Correspondent
The Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ) wants everyone to join hands in minimising, or eliminating, road traffic accidents, especially as the country moves towards the festive season.
Speaking during a safety assurance workshop in Harare on Tuesday, TSCZ managing director Mr Munesu Munodawafa said: “As a Government agency responsible for promoting road safety in our country, we call upon all stakeholders to join hands with us in ending road carnage on our roads.
“The Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe has since intensified its road safety awareness campaigns intended to educate the public on the need to preserve the sanctity of human life by doing what is right when using the roads. Road safety is everyone’s responsibility; let us all preserve lives.”
Caution on the roads has become particularly important this festive season following the deaths of about 30 people in three road accidents in one week this November.
Mr Munodawafa urged transport operators to familiarise themselves with Statutory Instrument 118 of 2023, which requires public service vehicles not to travel faster than the speed limit of 100km/h on the open road. Transport operators have already started fitting buses with speed tracking and limiting devices in line with the Statutory Instrument. When public service vehicles travel at 100km/h and below, fatal road accidents fall quickly in number.
“We urge motorists to exercise maximum caution, especially when overtaking, to avoid overtaking errors, which often result in head-on collisions.
“We advise motorists to undertake the proper overtaking drill as stipulated by the Highway Code to ensure safety when ferrying passengers. We also implore transport owners and operators to always employ drivers who possess drivers’ licences and valid defensive driving certificates,” he said.
To minimise accidents, drivers are no longer allowed to go acquire a Class 2 driver’s licence, for heavy trucks, straight off, but have to get a Class 4 licence then upgrade with time.
The decision was taken after the realisation that most Class 2 driver’s licence holders are unable to do parallel parking, as it was not part of their lessons. So this is why we declare that people should start with a Class 4 driver’s licence and after they complete it, they will qualify for a Class 2 driver’s licence to reduce road traffic accidents.
“I am definitely sure that it will bring positive results,” he said.
When the TSCZ conducted inspections at driving schools in Harare in May to check on their level of compliance, it found out that 52 percent were compliant with regulations, but the rest were not. In September, the same inspection was done and the level of compliance had risen to 78 percent.
Mr Munodawafa said the schools were warned that if they did not meet the required levels of compliance, their operating permits would be cancelled.
The inspection covered issues such as company registration, including NSSA, Zimra, and also checked on learner’s liability insurance, general insurance, availability of suitable offices, and some extra rules for driving schools.
A few driving schools met all the requirements, especially the general business requirements of Zimra and NSSA registration.
The TSCZ is mandated to deregister non-compliant and bogus driving schools and instructors.
Online Reporter