Online Reporter
Zimbabwe was on Thursday morning plunged into mourning following the death of 24 people who were killed when a bus and a haulage truck collided near Luthumba Tollgate, 25km from Beitbridge Town.
Seventeen people died on the spot while seven others died on admission to Beitbridge District Hospital
The Beitbridge-bound Urban Connect bus crashed into an Auro Transport haulage truck which had just pulled out of the tollgate.
A total of 56 passengers were injured and 10 of them are in a critical condition. Government has since declared the accident a state of disaster which means each of those killed in the horrendous accident will be accorded State-assisted burial. Preliminary investigations indicate that the bus was overtaking when it collided with the haulage truck.
President Mnangagwa who sent his condolences to the bereaved families, said the accident left him horrified and heartbroken.
“As I express my deepest heartfelt condolences to the families and relatives who have lost their loves ones in this horrific crash, I also heartily and prayerfully reach out to all those injured and hospitalised, wishing them a speedy recovery,” he said.
President Mnangagwa called for urgent measures to improve road safety, urging motorists to exercise extreme caution. He also urged the police and other law enforcement agencies to step up efforts to curb road carnage.
According to statistics 80 percent of road traffic accidents in Zimbabwe are as a result of human error which means they can be avoided. An average of 1 700 people are killed on Zimbabwean roads annually while 30 000 others are injured. The statistics are very frightening and something should be done urgently to reduce the carnage on our roads.
In a bid to tame the traffic jungle, Government at one time suspended the operators’ licences for two bus companies after their bus drivers who were racing and blocking each other caused an accident.
Government has repeatedly warned public transport operators violating traffic rules and regulations that they risk having their licences withdrawn but it seems bus drivers are not taking heed.
There is, therefore, a need for bus companies to introduce tracking systems to monitor the behaviour of their bus crews as part of efforts to tame the traffic jungle.
The bus racing being witnessed on our highways cannot be allowed to continue as it is putting the lives of travellers at risk.
We have said it before that passengers should not hesitate to report reckless bus drivers at the next roadblock or police station as this is the only way to control the behaviour of these bus drivers.
Bongani Ndlovu