Government has emphasised the need for all public service vehicles including buses starting from August 1, to be fitted with speed limiting and monitoring devices to ensure speeding by drivers is avoided, thereby saving lives, with the police capacitated to ensure compliance, following the gazetting of a new regulation.
According to Statutory Instrument 118 of 2023 all public service vehicles shall be fitted with a speed-limiting device so that such vehicles will not exceed 100km/hr.
The new regulations were gazetted by Transport and Infrastructure Development Minister Felix Mhona last Friday.
In a statement, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development said, “So what does the new Statutory Instrument mean for the ordinary citizen? An analysis by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development, through its leading road safety agency, the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe, on the causes of road traffic accidents showed that the main cause of fatalities was speeding which accounts for 37 percent of the fatalities.
“About 92 percent of the established causes were due to human error, especially speeding. Likewise, Honourable Minister F.T Mhona called for a National Road Safety Indaba that was held in January 2023, bringing together all transport stakeholders across the country. The Indaba resolved to regulate Public Service Vehicles (PSV) speed to a maximum of 100km/hr.”
The ministry said PSVs must also be fitted with speed monitors and speed limiters so that they do not exceed this prescribed speed limit to ensure improved road safety.
“Through Statutory Instrument 188 of 2023, the installation of speed limiting devices has been made compulsory for Public Service Vehicles (PSVs) as this will go a long way in controlling over-speeding by PSV drivers. This S.I. is meant to protect the ordinary citizens i.e. commuters and other road users.
“Over the years, Government has rehabilitated major highways such as Harare-Masvingo- Beitbridge, Plumtree-Mutare, however, an unintended consequence of this development has been over-speeding by drivers on the good roads. Therefore, speed regulation is an important strategy in improving the country’s road safety performance and saving lives,” reads the statement.
According to Government if heavy vehicle owners and drivers do not comply with the new SI, they will be fined or jailed or face both the fine and imprisonment.
“According to Section 5 of Statutory Instrument 188 of 2023, owners, operators and drivers who do not comply will be liable to a fine not exceeding level 5, or to a period of imprisonment not exceeding 6 months or both fine and imprisonment. At the current Standard Scale of Fines provided for in S.1 14A of 2023, level 5 fine is US$200.
“To ensure compliance with the new S.I. 188 of 2023, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development will not licence PSVs to operate without speed limiting and monitoring devices. These vehicles will not be issued with Certificates of Fitness by Vehicle Inspectorate Department and will not be issued Route Permits by the Road Motor Transportation Department,” the ministry said.
In April in Chivhu, a Tinboom bus crashed killing 13 people who died while several others were injured. Government declared the accident a national disaster.
By then Minister Mhona, who was leading a delegation on the tour, said, “We are saddened as a Ministry and Government that we are losing people due to road accidents. After we were informed of this accident, we informed the President who then sent us here to the accident scene and hospital to see and understand what could have happened and what needed to be done, to assist the affected.
“We are told that the driver was speeding. Maybe if he was not speeding, lives could have not been lost. I want to appeal to Zimbabweans and motorists to always value life. We are noting that drivers are not respecting the sanctity of life, this is very sad.
“Therefore, as a Ministry, we are now, and urgently advocating stiffer penalties on those who would be found breaking roads rules and regulations. We are also, immediately, encouraging our buses to obey speed limits. This is crucial in saving lives. We are also urging bus operators to ensure their drivers are sticking to their timetables.”
Timetables are plotted assuming that drivers obey road rules and limits so if they arrive at a stop or terminus earlier than they should, questions can be asked and assumptions of speeding made.
Speed limits are also the maximum permitted speeds, and drivers are expected to drive more slowly when there is congestion, visibility problems, and other dangers. – The Chronicle
