Zero Harm: Let’s walk the talk

Rumbidzai Tawanda
On Saturday morning I woke up to a text message from the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe reminding people to avoid speeding and to overtake when it is safe and legal to do so. The reminder could not have come at a more appropriate time, as the local radio stations and television were abuzz with news of the head-on collision between a Kukura Kurerwa bus and a two-tonne truck along the Bindura-Harare highway near Mazowe Citrus Estates on Friday morning.

According to media reports, the accident left six people dead on the spot and 29 others injured.
Eyewitness accounts reportedly indicate that the bus driver attempted to overtake six cars resulting in the collision. The news sent a chill down my spine, as it was an ominous reminder of the carnage that is altogether too common on our roads during the holiday season.

I was also alarmed by the fact that the bus driver, who also died in the accident, was attempting to overtake six vehicles at the time of the collision.
I do not mean to speak ill of the dead, but I think overtaking six vehicles at once was suicidal and reckless.
Such overtaking is definitely neither safe nor legal, and the resulting accident justifies my assertion.

I know sometimes drivers succumb to pressure from passengers to speed and overtake recklessly.
Being an individual who uses public transport on a daily basis, I am very familiar with passengers who complain when drivers are wary of dangerous overtaking and speeding.

Such passengers tend to hurl insults when they are reminded that no amount of overtaking or speeding will get them to their destinations on time.
Yet the onus is on drivers to stand firm and meticulously follow road instructions in order to ensure that everyone on board their vehicles gets to their destination in one piece.

Passengers should also desist from exerting unnecessary pressure on drivers to break road rules, resulting in unnecessary bloodshed.
The fight for zero road carnage will not be won until each individual makes the conscious effort to abide by road rules at all times.

With the Heroes and Defence Forces holidays season well underway and most Zimbabweans taking advantage of the long weekend to travel to their rural homes or holiday destinations, local police has deployed personnel on all major highways and residential areas to curb accidents while the

Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe has also intensified road awareness campaigns.
Yet these efforts will not suffice if individuals do not embrace good driving practices.

Road safety should not be the forte of authorities such as the police and Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe only. It should be your responsibility and mine.

It is time we all walked the Zero Harm talk to eliminate all road carnage.
Until next time, Let’s Go Zero, and remember that Zero Harm is Possible.