mbulelo smpofu
Many companies closed for Christmas and New Year holidays yesterday and as such many people are this weekend travelling to different destinations to enjoy the festivities with their families.
Zimbabwe is celebrating Unity Day tomorrow and as such Monday is a public holiday. We want to take this opportunity to urge bus drivers and other motorists to exercise extreme caution on our roads to avoid accidents.
The country has over the years recorded increased road traffic accidents during such public holidays caused mainly by recklessness bus drivers.
During such public holidays, we have witnessed real bus racing on the highways as bus drivers try to outdo each other thereby putting the lives of passengers and other road users at risk. There is therefore an urgent need to tame this traffic jungle which is to blame for the carnage on our roads.
This total disregard for the safety of the travelling public must be stopped forthwith.
Government has in the past threatened to withdraw operating licences of buses found flouting traffic rules and regulations but it seems the threat has not been deterrent enough hence the racing continues.
There is therefore a need for the police to rigorously enforce traffic rules and regulations starting today in order to reduce accidents.
Public transport operators should also contribute to taming this traffic jungle by ensuring reckless drivers are disciplined.
It is now very easy to monitor how drivers conduct themselves on the road because of technology.
The passengers on their part must assist the police by reporting reckless drivers at the next roadblock or police station.
On Wednesday Government and other stakeholders launched the 2024 festive season road safety awareness campaign whose theme is “Normal speed meets every need.”
The theme emphasises the importance of adhering to safe driving speeds.
Speaking at the launch, Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister, Felix Mhona, urged bus drivers and other motorists to observe traffic rules and regulations in order to avoid accidents.
It has been established that more than 80 percent of road traffic accidents are as a result of human error which means they can be avoided.
There is therefore, a need to weed out reckless bus drivers that have turned our roads into motor racing tracks.
Government has said it is now mandatory for operators of public service vehicles to install speed limiting and monitoring devices but it seems most buses do not have these devices hence this recklessness and speeding.
There might be a need to strictly enforce the issue of bus timetables as was the case in the past so that buses do not race for passengers. Bus drivers should respect the fact that they are entrusted with the safety of not only their passengers but other road users as well.
