Zero tolerance to road carnage

country is plunged into mourning when holiday celebrations turn out to be funeral wakes.
On July 18, 2010 I was extremely privileged to witness the launch of the Global Road Safety Week 2010 in Harare. The grand occasion started with the stakeholders marching from the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe, head office to Africa Unity Square.
The guest of honour was the Secretary for Transport, Communications and Infrastructural Development, Pattison Mbiriri.
When he took to the podium, he neither minced his words nor camouflaged his feelings about road carnage in Zimbabwe. On this day he was not the “diplomat” some of us have known him to be for many years.
We had known him to have the ability to artistically send someone to hell in a manner that the person will enjoy.
On this day he told it “as it is.”
After observing all protocols, Mbiriri opened his presentation by saying: “Nhasi ndinoda kutaura nezvemabasics kana kuti hwaro hwemumigwagwa takanangana netsaona dzapedza vanhu mumigwagwa yedu.” (I want to talk about basics on the carnage that has taken place on our roads).
For close to an hour, Mbiriri lamented a wide spectrum of disturbing practices and behaviour on the Zimbabwean roads.
He lamented the drivers’ attitude and the quality of driver training and development or is it lack of it.
He highlighted government interventions, regional and international collaborations and allegations of corruption at the Vehicle Inspection Department and at Central Vehicle Registry around Zimbabwe.
In an endeavour to bring about sanity on our roads, Mbiriri advised that government was pumping in huge amounts of very scarce financial, human and material resources in an effort to achieve zero tolerance to the traffic jungle prevailing in the country seemingly unabated.
The no-holds-barred presentation largely in vernacular that was punctuated by English translations here and there could at best be described as down to earth, challenging to the audience in its entirety and exposing day to day malpractice and unacceptable driving behaviours and habits on our roads.
Mbiriri was informative and educative but certainly not entertaining — it was serious business. He was highly intolerant of errant behaviours by public officials with corrupt tendencies especially in the VID and CVR departments.
Indeed this was a speech that evoked self-introspection on the part of the audience who cared to listen and resolve to mend their ways.
Mbiriri made it very clear that he was not interested in the reduction of the road carnage but described his uncompromising position as Zero Tolerance to the road carnage. Period!
He underlined that he remained on collision course with all those who have whatever level of tolerance “for traffic accident, “nokuti zvinondishungurudza kuona vanhu vachifa kana kutambudzika shure kwetsaona dzemumigwagwa”.
The Permanent Secretary’s powerful speech aroused different reactions, challenges, emotions and conclusions from the gathering. For me I drew the following observations and conclusions:
That the Zimbabwean driver needs to undergo a 360 degree attitude transformation. Nearly two years later on the 11th of February, 2012 another Zimbabwean prolific columnist Egpha Jokomo wrote in The Herald an article titled “What Does It Cost To Be Courteous”?
In the article, Jokomo laments the behaviour and attitude of our drivers, which is characterised by unpalatable manifestations such as abuse of other road users and swearing at other drivers.
She also noted jostling to enter intersections especially during and soon after heavy downpours, even when traffic lights are working (Hurry, Hurry, Hurry, for what?)
Jokomo raised wiggling one’s way from behind into the traffic chain, sullen or is it sulky, moody, and angry looking drivers (or is it stress manifestations?)
She lamented drivers who seem to be cleverer than anyone else, especially kombi and taxi drivers.
Impatience and spirit of competition displayed by drivers, combative and confrontational attitude, also came out.
In her article, Jokomo alluded to the fact that while driver training and development programmes are useful, there is a greater need for what she calls “total transformation of mindset” and the need for people in general and drivers in particular to “become more self-controlled, polite, patient, considerate, compassionate and courteous”.
There is a serious dearth of driving skills amongst Zimbabwean drivers and as a nation we should know that acquiring a driver’s licence is not an end in itself.
Driver’s licences can be acquired by whatever means, at any cost as long as one will drive on the roads with minimum police “harassment.”
Many vehicles on the roads are unroadworthy and do not carry the required official/legal documents for reasons best known by their owners.
The road carnage knows no colour, nationality, status, age, gender, religion, and ethnicity.
Then there is the Highway Code. There is a yawning knowledge gap of this “manual” by majority drivers. Road users have a tendency to dispose/donate their copy of the Highway Code immediately upon acquiring their driver’s licence.
If they keep it, they will never, ever read it, letting it gather dust on their bookshelves. They also never check on the currency of the Highway Code. The current copy is Volume 1, 2011.
Recently a student was seen by this writer in possession of Volume 1, 2006 as he prepared for his provisional driver’s examination.
I was inspired to write this column and to title it “Zero tolerance to road carnage” courtesy of Mbiriri.
The student cited above was advised to acquire Volume 1 of 2011 copy and get rid of the Volume 1 of 2006 he had in his possession.
It is my humble submission and conviction that if all of us the various road users, religiously and meticulously adhered to the dos and don’ts in the Highway Code we would achieve a 100 percent accident free society thereby avoiding “kushungurudzana.”
In my observations over the last three and half decades as a licenced driver, all collisions and accidents nearly always point a finger to total or partial disregard of the provisions of the Highway Code (collisions involve more than one vehicle while accidents involve one vehicle).
Without exception an analysis of categories of both accidents and collisions by trend, type, pattern, severity and circumstances point a finger back to the driver.
Secondly, one is always left shell shocked by the extent and depth of ignorance of the Highway Code displayed and demonstrated by very experienced and qualified drivers holding sometimes all driving classes.
Recently, one senior truck driver confessed ignorance of the sequence of a robot while attending a driver refresher course organised and run by our company.