AT the beginning of the festive season, the police promised the nation to be out in full force on the country’s major highways with a zero tolerance approach towards all traffic offences.
Candid Comment by Dingilizwe Ntuli
However, each time the force issues such warnings, more Zimbabweans needlessly perish on our treacherous roads.
More than 180 people were killed in road accidents since December 15, with Sunday, December 23 making headlines for the deaths of 18 people after a container truck with 63 passengers overturned several times in the Honde Valley.
Where were Zimbabwe’s finest and their so-called zero tolerance approach in this melee? How a truck could carry 63 passengers from Harare until it killed them in Manicaland boggles the mind.
How was it allowed to go through the many roadblocks strewn along the highway? Just exactly what do the police check for at roadblocks if the truck was allowed to transport hapless travellers to their deaths?
Why are road fatalities increasing despite the heavy presence of law enforcement agencies? Could it be that our traffic officers are playing Russian roulette with innocent motorists and passengers?
Although most accidents can be attributed to excessive speed, dangerous overtaking, unroadworthy vehicles, and drink-driving, increasing roadblocks alone cannot be the solution to curbing the increasing blood flow on our roads.
After all, these roadblocks have been used to swindle motorists of money instead of enforcing traffic rules and regulations.
Fire extinguishers, reflective jackets and triangles have never prevented accidents, but these are surprisingly the only things our overzealous cops check for whenever they stop motorists.
Most unroadworthy vehicles pass this favourite police checklist and as long as the cops continue to elevate accessories over the actual state of the vehicles, more carnage can be expected come Easter. Worse still, roadblocks and speed cameras are situated at known spots on all highways.
It’s high time traffic authorities take additional measures to prevent road accidents, not only during the holiday period, but all year round.
Measures should include increased mobile patrols on our highways to regulate and control the movement of traffic, with particular emphasis on violations related to excessive speed, dangerous overtaking, not wearing safety belts and driving under the influence of alcohol.
Police commanders must re-organise the highway patrol unit by acquiring more patrol vehicles for effective policing. More resources should be deployed to this unit if road accidents are to be reduced. And the motoring public should be discouraged from driving at night. It’s known that whenever there is a police car on the road, motorists drive more carefully.
The lack of police patrol presence on the highways is one of the chief causes of most road accidents. It’s very rare to see police cars just patrolling and making a presence on the road whenever one is driving.
In as much as the police are mandated to reduce crime and traffic accidents, it is your responsiblity the driver to ensure the safety of your passengers. It start with the driver and other various stakeholders, min of roads, v.i.d , Police, passengers and owners of vehicles. To say the police are solely responsible for the safety of all who use the road is taking it a bit to far.
it is quite sad to note the high carnage on our roads.the question is then who is responsible?my personal opinion is first it is the drivers responsibilty to look after themselves,their car,their passangers and other motorists on the road.Much as the police would deter and check for other required road safety equipment.The drivers in my country are not taking responsibility.dont get me wrong the ministry responsible for road traffic safety is responsible for their part that is neglecting the roads.Guys lets picture this.It is the rainy season now.You can imagine how that roadside grass responds to good rains,it will grow tall in less that three weeks, Noone is cutting the grass.This causes poor visibility for the drivers,You can not tell whats going to come out of these grasses.Secondly no road markings,this makes it difficult if its raining during the day,When its dark or night time it becomes a death trap.Picture it again heavy rainfall no road markings whats the end result disaster,Thirdly the general population should be educated about the importance of road signs.Most of the danger warning signs are now non existant on our roads,Due to vandalism and no maintainace by the responsible Authorities.The whole road network needs to be resign posted showing the motorists the imminent dangers.The Vehicle inspection department needs to do its role in outlining possible defects on vehicles.There was an issue of tyre burst that has claimed a number of lives.can we not have a check on which brand and design of tyres that are safe and those that can stand our temperatures as this has come up as a major concern.I can not over emphasis the issue of responsibility if you use the public transport those who drive the public should know that they have the responsibility of taking people to their destinations safely.They should know that they are held responsible for their passengers safety.Passengers should not be put in danger by these rogue drivers.Report them to the police rather than putting your lives at risk.let the justice system come into effect and charge those who put others live in danger and be imprisoned for causing dangerous and negligent driving.please my people you might have powerfull cars but our roads are not conjucive to high speeds be responsible.Government play your part as well.the driver training programme offered by the traffic safety board is it upto date with current standards?We hear about the highway code i wonder what is in the highway code as literally all if not most of the road signs are down.we need road signs that are visible in all type of weather night and day.Most of all lets involve others who can offer their expertise in these areas.Ministry of roads and transport invest on our roads as we do pay on toll gates.It is a con if we pay all that money but nothing is invested on the roads as no one is immune from the impact of poor roads.Lets not wait any longer we dont want to lose further lives.long live positive thinking.
In as much as you can ask the responsible authorities to take action and make our roads safe,im sure all this blood spill incidents are going unnoticed primarily because its not one of their relatives who dies in the accident(s).
It doesnt require rocket science for one to notice the bad state of all zimbabwean roads.I now call for the higher authorities to do something about it.We are tired of rebushing our cars front suspensions and tyre because of all these potholes all over the country.To my surprise thats when you see the Harare city council patching up pot holes with soil this rainy season,to make matters even worse they are busy mauling a hill in Warren park D opposite mekeri then one wonders where and what EMA is doing if they are failing to control such damage to the environment.People only want to be awakened by a disaster of a landslide that buries all the nearby houses and their occupants.Guys this is form 2 geography causes of land slides why not prevent it.
Back to the Police mupurisa asingabe haasi mupurisa but ill be happy if they minimise the rate at which they take bribes and also validate the offences they take bribes for if they are life threatening then no bribes should be taken.
Lastly ZIMRA ,ZINARA & CITY COUNCIL please do something about the fucken roads its your job to make sure they are upto scratch and deleloped if need be Fuck munondisemesa mhani corruption kwese kwese here mmmmm.
I have always thought that the Traffic unit’s manadate is to patrol the high way and not hide on blind sports/municpal outlets to catch people who are overspeeding. Driving up and down the highway would obviously deter some of the speeds that we witness on our roads. The example of Chegutu Police where the practice started paints a sad state of affiars. There is always two teams on either side of the town. I have always argued with traffic corps on their requirement for items that are required after an accident(fire extinguishers, red reflectors and reflective vests, instead of insisting on things required to avoid accidents such as good tyres, working wipers, stop lights, indicators and even lights during the night. I got a traffic ticket for having no continous red reflector when I had the corner reflectors, the light inbuilt reflector and my vehicle name is written with refleticve material. Honestly if I had had an accident would anyone have missed my vehicle whose back looks like a lunapark during the nite. The point is its not accident prevention that they look for anymore but “monie”. Yes as drivers we have a responsibility but when we have a state institutuion that has justified its increased presence and disturbance of traffic flow, as reducing road carnage and we have increased road carnage then it cannot be explained.
Authorities need to do more. The volume of traffic has increased and its high time we focused attention on the road network let alone road repairs. I also notice with dismay that the repairs of the road by Group five is not solving the deeps and dimples on the road.
Police should not hide at blind sports but monitor the high way because accidents are not happening at blind sports. We also want police at road blocks not money collectors. At the moment we have money collectors at road blocks that is why an overloaded kombi can pass through ten road blocks at will. You hear of tyre bursts on Kombis yet that police road block did not check the kombi’s tyres but the conductor’s pockets so the police are to blame. We have 20 police posts from Harare to Mutare just imagine a distance of 260km meaning you can be stopped every 12kms, that is madness yet the accidents statistics do not much this. Also most good drivers are the unlicensed ones because they do not have money to bribe for a licence. Most with 12 years and later licences are gotten through bribes and some did not even read the Highway Code, They don’t know that the road is shared and you don’t move a vehicle you drive it. They think a green robot always means go even if he/she will be stopped in the middle of a junction. If you follow the rules you get them honking at you like mad people because they don’t know the rules.
It seems to me that as long as we don’t walk the talk, hapana zvinonyanyo sanduka maZimbabwe. Research indicates kuti we have vulnerable traffic/road safety structures including traffic policing. The differences clearly show nedzimwe nyika dziri more organised, act on research suggestions and just simply care. As far as I am concerned leadership yenyika yedu is to blame fair and square.
The heading on this subject is “JUST WHERE IS THE POLICE?” The answer is simple, the Police are there but not doing their job. Let me relate my experience. I was driving on the Harare- Beitbridge road the other day.
This South Africa Joburg bound bus was coming up behind me at top speed towing this trailer that was so unstable as it followed behind. In another split second the bus was by my side. Before the bus could complete the overtaking, a vehicle was coming up from the opposite direction. Upon realising that he could not come back to his lane, the bus driver suddenly moved back to his lane almost hitting my side with the trailer he was towing. Sensing this danger, i moved off the road on all 4 wheels.
That was not the end of the story. The bus driver took another dive to the right, overtaking two trucks in one kick. He could not make it on the third as another vehicle approached from the opposite direction. The third vehicle was forced off the road on all 4 wheels. Just ahead at this point, there was a police road block. I quickly drove up the verges on the road to inform the police on the behavior of the bus driver. The driver of the vehicle that was forced off the road, jumped out to make the same complaint. Police then ordered the three of us to park our vehicles on the side of the road in the order, the bus in front, myself in the middle and last the other vehicle.
Guess the next thing? The bus driver jumps off his steering wheel to come to where the Police are standing. The stand-by driver of the same bus jumps onto the steering wheel and drives off from the scene. Police does nothing!!! Another split second, money changes hands between the driver and police!!!! Upon realising he had come off the police hook, he shouts at me “Mudhara iwe uno penga” while police was right there.
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