Chronicle Editor
Stephen Mpofu
AN imperative need for a carnage-free environment on Zimbabwean roads as anywhere else around the globe is a trending story that motorists in our country must take heed of or else they are doomed.
That is an all-important road safety message which United Nations special envoy Mr Jean Todt delivered to the people of this country after meeting President Mnangagwa in Harare this week with the UN delegation to speak about the situation of road safety on the African continent and more specifically in Zimbabwe.
The rate at which lives are being lost on our roads has prompted many concerned Zimbabweans to wonder if drivers involved in the accidents are as unroadworthy as the vehicles they drive either because they buy their licences, or drive when drunk, thereby violating the cardinal rule: “don’t drink and drive”.
But Commissioner Mr Paul Nyathi must have hit the nail on the head, as it were, when commenting two days ago on the worrying trend of loss of lives on this country’s roads.
He, for instance, cited the good conditions of the Harare-Bulawayo to Plumtree highway as well as the Harare to Beitbridge Road among other good carriageways but said lives were still being lost on those roads because motorists drive without considering other people’s lives as if “the world ends on that particular day”.
The accidents occurred in spite of awareness campaigns that the police and other road safety stakeholders continue to carry out everywhere, including at roadblocks, he added.
In the circumstances, it certainly behooves on the powers that be to introduce and apply draconian legal measures to save more lives doomed by drivers driven by “I-don’t-care” attitudes.
Zimbabwe needs everyone’s God-given span of life to develop our beloved motherland with its rich minerals and other resources to benefit generations to come before our global village completes its journey.
Which means, therefore, that road safety should be preached and practiced by all as a life trend and not as something piecemeal.
For life-saving results to be achieved on the roads, the stick must partner the tongue; otherwise copious tears will continue to flow from the eyes of those who lose their beloved ones in uncurbed road carnages.
Online Reporter