Police in Chipata today swung into action and impounded bicycles for failure by owners to observed traffic rules.
A check by ZANIS along Umodzi highway in the town centre found a police patrol vehicle laden with bicycles, which were later taken to the police station.
Police sources said bicycles in the district were a major concern of accidents because many cyclists failed to observed traffic rules, especially at traffic lights.
The police said some cyclists had a tendency of not stopping at the traffic light when they were supposed to do so.
The impounding of bicycles has also cheered motorists who said some cyclists were a menace to both pedestrians and vehicles on the road because they allegedly did not know even the basic rules of the highway code.
Recently, Eastern Province Minister, Charles Shawa expressed concern at the high number of road traffic accidents that happen in the region.
Mr. Shawa called for the expansion of the roads in the province to allow free movement of pedestrians and cyclists.
He said this would reduce accidents, which he said the rate at which they were occurring, was alarming.
Ambuya, mabcycle ndi e galimoto!
I think my relatives are either eating too many rats or they have run out of rats to hunt down and thought they have a go at bicycles. What are you going to do next? Open the first cycling school in the world and offer a first international cycling license, right there in chipata?
Why are Easterners so dull?Is it inherent or because of the enviroment?
UTULO AMBUYA!!!!
wow police in chipata must have been busy . can they open up bicycle riding school so that they oso learn the high way code so they can obey traffic rules
Find Better things to do you Cops or I will fire you.
A good solution would be to build side walks and bike trails. Make provisions for these cyclists to be safe on the road.
Why is this site rampantly letting these ignorant bloggers as #3 unchecked? Even though he uses an eastern sounding name as ID we know he is yet another tribalist poking insults at people from the east. You damn ass easterners are not dull, you are. The problem with bicycle traffic is embedded in the general transportation culture which has never seriously addressed safety education for the general rider and how to observe traffic laws and regulations. That is a nationwide issue. On the other hand its apparent the cops had little else to do. Education would address riding passengers on handlebars, overloading with Mbuzi,Fruit,Cane etc,.. generally things that interfere with proper operation
#7 come on, #3 is just making fun on the easterners, theres no malice maent. get real!
Ok #8 i will grant him that no malice was intended and apologise for being a little careless in my choice of words.I will add again however that may be its about time safety related issues were formally addessed by appropriate authorities. Otherwise the police are just wasting taxpayer time and money while harrassing uneducated cyclists. Thanx for your input.
#9 is Chimanga Changa…sorry
The problem is not the bikers. Authority is a real problem. Zambia is a country where road construction is so chaotic and the only person taken into consideration when constructing a road is a motorist. I have been to a few countries and I ve observed that almost all the roads have cyclist tracks as well as pedestrian tracks/walkways. In Zambia, we have the most travelled ministers and abroad they enjoy such facilities as they do not book cabs or use embassy vehicles but use public transport just as the ministers there. Why they enjoy commuting on public transport is coz even after jumping off a bus or train they will still walk safely on pretty busy road which seperate pedestrians from…
…all vehicle forms including bicycles. Its very illegal for the authority to impound those vehicles (bicycles) as there is no formal highway code which cyclist should follow. The cyclists do not know their responsibilities on the road. I have read several highway code handbooks from various countries and instead of only motor vehicles, even bikes and motor bikes have been extensively included in this books in terms of who is responsible for what. The code also explains the pedestrians’ responsibilities. I am yet to see a Zambian highway code. In addition to that there are guide lines from the police department on how bicycles should be rode.
I concur with #6 as a nation, the authorities responsible need to woke up to the challenge. There are number of issues that require redress here. First, it is about makng provision for the roads to provide for the cycle tracks and road paths with adequate trackand road signs. Then we need road safety education and traffic rules. For the latter, community radio broadcasting services become very useful. In this regard, there is aso need to amend the broadcasting legal framework of these community radio broadcasters. With increased motor vehicles and souring fuel prices, number of cyclists is bound to increase not only in Chipata but nation-wide.
Our town and country planning was killed by the MMD. Persecuting cyclists in Eastern Province, and charging motorists at Kazungula Carbon Tax for their vehicles just shows how mindless this gRZ is towards serious citizens whose sole aim is to survive and serve their needs.
Why not allo cyclists do their part intelligently by ensuring that our city and town roads are designed and constructed with bikers, walkers and motorists in mind? Arresting bikers just shows how brain dead Mwanawasa is.
I think Bazimandola we need to borrow these Kumawa cops to sort out these Lamba chaps from small vilages along Kapiri road. With just a frame on finished tyres overloaded with charcoal!! They are really a nuisance on the road.
There is something callet NMT (Non Motorised Transport), if you stay in Lusaka, there is a runner all the way from the Independence Avenue/Burma Road Junction all the way to Burma/Mosi-oa-Tunya road junction which was meant for bicycles and cyclists. I have been to Chipata before and this is even precisely why Luangwa industries was created in Chipata, but there are no provisions for NMT. So number 14 you are right our roads need redisigning. Chipata council is one of the strong councils with a thinking Town Clerk, I am wondering why they have not done this already. Siwakwi is one of the best town clerks in Zambia if not the best. At the same time I doubt there is a law in Zambia governing
bicycles all I know is the highway code mentions something aimed at motorists to treat cyclists (suspiciously), when driving past them.
these chaps are just corrupt and hungry!leave the people alone.the town planners didn’t have cyclists in mind !
Given that cars came after bicycles after Brenda’s comment interesting i would have thought the reverse should have been true.
#15 are you sure you want people to call you by that name?
eastern pipo!!!
#20, indeed
Pandani kansi? #22
Could not help laughing…..this z ridiculous
ba shushushu (kapokola wanya iwe shi nyele) i guess you dont have thieves in eastern coz these fools have just gone grazy let the poor people enjoy riding the BMW’ s (bike)freely.
While I do not know what exactly transpired in the Chipata bicycle issue, I know that some people back home – in Zambia – ride bicycles without fully functioning brakes. Sometimes, the bicycles have finished tyres. The whole alignment of the bicycle frame would normally be bend causing the front wheel system be misaligned with the rear one.
Having written this, i think the Chipata policemen must not be insulted and normal analysis should prevail.
Its a pity Bembas can not ride monkeys, otherwise they was going to be commotion in Bembaland with a lot of traffic. Don’t be offended Bembas its- Chimbuya.
lets use dignified identities here.
I agree with #11. I was recently in Lusaka and was amazed at how pedestrian and cyclist-unfriendly the road design and usage are. Motorists too appear ignorant of the rights of cyclists on the roads.
TIMES of Zambia senior reporter, Kaiko Namusa, was on Tuesday assaulted and detained for over an hour at Chipata Central police station for taking pictures of police officers who were manhandling a cyclist for allegedly breaking traffic rules.
Mr Namusa, who is in Eastern Province accompanying Programme Against Malnutrition (PAM), said he was caught up in the fracas after being noticed to have taken photos of them beating a cyclist.
This is the sort behaviour our MPs should be condemning, instead of just spending their time drinking and spreading HIV at their motel.
Leave the mbuyas alone. Impounding bikes is not the solution, its not the bikes that break the law but the riders. A simple sensitization campaign by the Police with Civic and Political leaders would have better and long term results. Imagine grabbing a bike from chap who cycled 20 Kms to town to buy supplies for the family? Lets be humane when enforcing the law. Also, I would like to find out how many of these bikes will go to the rightful owners at the end of this all.
Iam sure every cop homestead now has a bike
INTERESTING INDEED. IT IS SAID THAT, ‘THE IDLE MIND IS THE DEVIL’S WORKSHOP’ AND TOMORROW THEY WILL BE ARRESTING PEDESTRIANS WHO CROSS THE ROAD ANYWHERE NOT AN THE ZEBRA CROSSING. THE OWNERS OF THE BICYCLES ARE THEY EXPECTED TO GO TO CYCLING SCHOOL OR DRIVING SCHOOL?
I HOPE NONE OF THESE POOR PIPO WILL LOSS THEIR ONLY MEANS OF TRANSPORT. DO MAKE THE POOR TO BE MORE POORER PLIZ, WE ARE TALKING OF POVERTY ERADICATION AND U COPS U ARE DOING OTHERWISE. TAKE THEM TO DRIVING SCHOOL SO THAT THEY CAN KNOW THE HIGH WAY CODE.
I think the GRZ at first would have given an outmatum at my eastern brothers to fix whatever is considered dangerous to the motorists or even people at hand but still i agree to the fact the in zed most roads outside lusaka have no proper planing to accommodate pedestrians and bicycles though ive seen in Lusaka near UNZA some few changes atleast happening to that great east road. i think this impounding of bicycles came to light after the last time we debated an article on Lt about to cyclist who collided and the other chap dies… God be with him.
#33 i agree with u
A classic case of ‘nothing to do, and nobody to do it to’. Shame on these clueless cops.
The council should be encouraging the use of bikes as fuels become more expensive. This is just atrigger happy reaction by police. Mr chipata town clake, encorege the use of cycles. Apart from the exercise factor, pipo will be saving money. In evry county cycling is being encouraged.
dad ordered the police to do so since its easier than dealing with ftj.
The action clearly displays the poor interllect of our police force quasi our Ministry of Home Affairs.What they only know is impounding,instead of educating the cyclists.A short course in traffic regulatins every saturday for the victims , before handing them their bikes is more progressive. If possible at a small fee as a penaty and at the same time as course admission fee. Bikes have become a very modern way of transport in the developed world. As for the police, the road is not only made for a car !!
By the way in some developed countriry ( e.g. Germany ) riding a bike drunk will cost you your driving licence.
Let us be progressive in thinking !
Job well done by the police , any highway left to the notorious cyclists is bound to to turn into a death zone. All you critising the police should take into account the landscape of chipata. While it is necessary to conduct civic eduction on the issue. Checks should continnue to safeguard the road user’s lives.
# 41 good comment. I appreciate what the cops are trying to fulfill but they have to be serious. this is not the first time such a thing has been in effect. I am a living victim of having suffered the same in the 80s when I stayed in Luapula. We need real civic education and that is one thing that teachers and cops can incorporate in their programs. Those of you that have been on the GNR around L/stone and Mazabuka will agree how bad a cyclist can be especially with that saaka of amalasha. I wish to see the same attack on all those vehicle with 60s inspection tags. We all pay tax.
I’m so proud of my tribesmen, our province is so crime-free that the cops got nothing to do at all.
u *****s
I’m from the area, spent my childhood there and for that matter received all my elementary, primary and secondary school education there. Bicycles,tractor drawn trailers, and totally unsafe Bedford lorries were the main forms of transport as we went from place to place to compete in athletics, soccer and debates.That was many many years ago when Kaunda,Kapwepwe and Kamanga etc were just taking over from Welensky. It is sad commentary that today,C21st, we still have not addressed these archaic, unregulated transportation modes that in essence are major hazards.Somebody’s 2011 agenda could begin here.
20DbLY comment1 ,
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