Awareness campaigns to minimise road traffic accidents this festive season have been intensified, with stakeholders joining hands with police to educate motorists on ways of safe travelling to save lives.
The stakeholders that joined the police, Government and Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe were Zimbabwe Passenger Transporters Organisation (ZPTO), Zimbabwe Union of Drivers and Conductors (ZUDAC), Greater Harare Commuter Omnibus Association (GHACO) and Passengers Association of Zimbabwe (PAZ).
During the campaigns, motorists were given flyers which carried message such to observe all road rules and regulations, avoiding speeding, avoiding drinking and driving and to ensure that their vehicles were roadworthy before travelling, among others.
In an interview, ZPTO chairman Dr Sam Nanhanga said they have been urging their members to ensure that this festive season is an accident free holiday.
“The initiative, which has been created here, we really thank all the organisers, because towards the end of the year we really have experience a lot of road carnage. So what is happening here is that people are being educating to exercise extreme caution and to tell the passengers that they have got the rights to tell the driver not to misbehave,” he said.
The main cause of accidents was that motorists were driving while using cellphones, speeding, drinking and driving, overtaking errors and reckless driving, among others.
“People are being cautioned not to drink and drive, to avoid using mobile phones while driving, avoid speeding and to be cautious on the road so that at the end of the day we can experience a safer holiday.
“During the past few years we have been experiencing that most of the holidays were being characterised by a lot of loss of lives and injuries. So with this exercise we believe that people are going to listen and take heed of our messages because the Traffic Safety Council is also here and we as the Zimbabwe Passenger Transporters Organisation we are also here, the police and the government is also here. So we think we are going to yield a more attractive result so far as accidents are concerned,” Dr Nanhanga said.
He said during the past few months they held meetings with bus owners to tell their drivers to avoid speeding since 90 percent of the accidents were being caused by human error.
GHACO secretary general Mr Ngoni Katsvairo also said his organisation had been engaging their members to ensure that they follow all rules and regulations when driving on the roads.
“We are here to ensure that the accidents have been reduced and that people killed and injured have been reduced. We are also encouraging all operators that the vehicles they are deploying on the roads are roadworthy. They have a certificate of fitness, passenger insurance which will make sure that if there is an accident, injured people will be taken to hospitals and also compensated,” he said.
He urged passengers not to board unregistered vehicles as they will be risking their lives. ZUDAC president, Mr Fradreck Maguramhinga, said they had been cautioning their members to avoid speeding and ensure the safety of the passengers.
“We have been informing our members, that is the drivers, to ensure that they have the required documents on the roads, such as the defensive driving and medical certificates among other documents required,” he said. Drivers must have these documents by conducting basic training needed by the law.
They had also engaged operators to ensure that they take rest when driving and that if possible on long journeys they should employ at least two drivers.
PAZ president Mr Tafadzwa Golliati said passengers should ensure that they inform the nearest police checkpoint of any errant drivers they come across with.
Passengers should ensure that they use registered passenger vehicles to avoid being robbed and also for their safety in terms of being insured if an accident occurred.
Secretary for Provincial Affairs and Devolution for Harare Metropolitan Mr Tafadzwa Muguti said the awareness campaign was to ensure that people travel well to their various destinations.
“Today (yesterday) as Harare Metropolitan Province we have launched the road festive campaign which is supporting the campaign by the Zimbabwe Republic Police to ensure that we have zero fatalities during this festive season. Essentially we are talking to all motorists and encouraging them about the need to wear seat belts and the basic laws of obeying traffic laws. We are also checking unroadworthy vehicles, among other defects,” he said.
The Officer Commanding Harare Province Commissioner Wonder Tembo said most of the roads have become a death trap and that was the reason police had embarked on the awareness campaigns involving other stakeholders and government officials.
“We want to ensure that all motorists and road users have the responsibility to safeguard all the passengers on the roads. As you can see we are here to enforce all traffic rules and regulations and make sure that all unroadworthy vehicles are impounded.
“As the ZRP we have deployed all our officers on all the roads in and around the city in a bid to bring sanity to the roads,” he said.
Comm Tembo said if they could work together with the members of the public, passengers and the drivers they will curb road carnage. Meanwhile several motorists were arrested and fined during the campaign while others had their vehicles impounded for various offences. – The Herald
