The Passenger Pedestrian and Cyclist Association of Zambia (PAPECAZ) has urged government to immediately ban the movement of commuter buses at night.
PAPECAZ President Lawrence Kaoma says the movement of long distance buses at night should be banned with immediate effect to curb the rising number of road accidents where innocent lives are lost and maimed.
Mr Kabwe said the ban should be implemented as most drivers are failing to observe and maintain road safety measures especially at night.
He has suggested that long distance buses should start off at 05:00 hours in the morning to their various destinations and stop at 21:00 hours.
“We are demanding from government for the immediate ban of movement of passenger buses at night. Most drivers have failed to maintain road safety measures at night,,” he said.
Mr. Kaoma’s observation comes in the wake of a recent case where a bus was impounded by the Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) but was later released only to kill eight people in Kapiri-mposhi due to defective tyres and wipers.
This is contained in a press statement released to ZANIS in Lusaka yesterday.
Similar road mishaps have occurred in different parts of the country within this month.
Mr. Kaoma , who is also Past RTSA Board Member said the agency is not to blame for many road accidents occurring across the country but that he placed 100 percent blame on the drivers for the loss of lives.
ZANIS
Lets hope the move will reduce the number of accidents.
Transporters urged to display RTSA numbers as reported in the times news paper or by it’s more appropriate name goverment propaganda machine. Great reporting from them on this one all the same. Passengers shall definitely be getting toll free numbers to buzz government officers. Then introduce passenger insurance.
The problem is not nite time driving. the problem is bad roads, lack of lane markings & road signs, vehicles with no lights (parking and headlights), Broken down & abandoned vehicles remaining on roads for hours or days without triangles or hazard lights, lack of tow trucks to tow away broken down vehicles. the list is endless. all we’re doing is trying to cure a symptom and not the disease. one should be free to travel at anytime. we also need insurance and compensation for victims and survivors
Night travelers will never stop. In-fact, there are routes like the Nakonde one where it’s an advantage to get there in the morning, so that by 17hrs, one comes back. There are not enough lodges and guest houses to accommodate a large volume of travelers if they get there late in the day.
Added to that, people risk contracting STDs if they are encouraged to sleep there. So, either way, people may die like it has, on roads or later if they contract VDs.
The calls should be make the roads safe, make sure drivers have a valid full license legally obtained and ensure buses have legally passed an MOT. If the roads are crap, they will be crap even during the day. If drivers are those who only yesterday were conductors, driving during the day will not make any difference. If these operators are going to get MOT certificates for their buses which rarely get serviced other than only taken in a garage for repairs, during such a bus during the day will not make any difference. It`s true we have got a long way to go.
It would be unfair to ban transporters at night… It will just increase the cost on both the transporters and the passengers. Who buys the food when they park after 21pm? Who pays for the passangers accomodation? What about the turn over trips and profits for the business? Some of these NGOs make pronouncements whose cosiquences they do not understand… If i was this man, i would call on govt to (1) improve the road infrastracture- incuding markings and other signs, conditions of roads, conditions of service for drivers. In fact, i would investigate the reasons why accidents are happening first. Driving at night may not be the major reason why there are lot of accidents: There could be other factors that are made worse by driving at night. Look for the root courses and not the symptoms.
Banning the movement of buses at night is not a solution. The answer is for RTSA to ensure that buses are roadworth and drivers are qualified. What is going to happen if we have two or more accidents during tha day, are we going to ban the movement of buses during the day! Every where in the world public transport is 24/7 but they systems to ensure that drivers are constantly monitored.
Oops! Driving such a bus! Papering the cracks is not solving the problem Zambians wake up. How about traffic calming measures in dangerous places, how about making sure dangerous places are are well lit, how about banning drivers who are over speeding and not soliciting for nechekeleko, how about making sure buses are road fit? I can see a few MMD cadres twinge! Yes it costs money but what is money to losing a life? There are no short cuts I am afraid. We have to spend and make people safe. I like driving at night by the way. Why should I be forced to drive during the day?
“He has suggested that long distance buses should start off at 05:00 hours in the morning to their various destinations and stop at 21:00 hours”. What exactly does this man mean? Am confused! If the so called last bus started off at 21hrs from Lsk to Kasama, well it will be on the road all night long. To me he is contradicting himself unless english is not on my side here.
Definitely not your strongest point. The article says start at 05:00 and STOP at 21:00hrs. lol!
# 6 Abantu…..These chaps we have empowered to run our country are shallow minded. They dont see things from different angles. We need proper infrustracture and discipline to avoid such. But we wont eradicate accidents completely by banning Buses moving at night. Just put proper control measures. We know longer have inspectors on long distance routes. Who inspects,drunk drivers,faulty buses, etc. Are the owners of these buses giving enough rest to their drivers and who is monitoring that? We are so corrupt that we no long worry about other peoples lives.
What we need is a regulated road system with proper road signs, we need speed limits for cars and different speed limits for buses, every vehicle should be road worthy every time it’s being used and every car in Zambia should display MOT discs. We need street lights. We need toll bridges that will help fund road maintenance. We need a new licencing system, people should be properly tested, that is both theoretically and practically before they’re given a driver’s license , all the current Zambian drivers licences should be rendered void so we start afresh by a certain date and lets start afresh. This will bring credibility to our road network in Zambia and we have to start from somewhere. This isn’t rocket science or quantum physics so can be done by any country. This will create…
what’s so difficult about inspecting buses regularly. intercity is a few hundred metres from rtsa. this culture of coming up with solutions in the press just has to stop. can we also have statistics on road accidents, at least to know where the accident hot spots are.
There is nothing wrong with travelling at night. All we need to do is make sure that drivers have adequate rest and introducing co- drivers in case the other one gets tired or sick. Gone are the days you dictated how people operate their business, after all the more money they make the more gvt revenue. Stop the road block nonsense and intensify high way patrols.
No need to ban all buses. They can simply issue permits allowing the buses to move at night renewable every month. The buses can be inspected, drivers interviewed etc. There is no need for negligent operators to hold the country at ransom.
mu zambia too many presidents, who is this president also.
The problem is bad roads and not driving at night. Dual or threo carriage ways will solve the problem of accidents either during the day or at night.
Night travelling is the biggest factor,if you look at the two previous accidents both in kasama and chinsali the guys slept on the wheel the how do you bring in the issues of the road. A bus is not a plane which goes on auto-pilot.
This is a pathetic idea.
#18 I totally disagree that driving at night is the problem. The driver can simply sleep during the day when they know they are on night duty. The fact is roads are bad, of couse when it is dark and drivng on bad road makes things worse.
May be we can learn something from the UK.
Members of the Unite union have renewed calls to reduce the number of hours worked by bus drivers after members raised safety concerns.
Some drivers in Greater Manchester have told the BBC the five-and-a-half hours they spend behind the wheel before a break puts passengers at risk. Government review
Under guidelines for passenger carrying vehicles, drivers on journeys of less than 50km can drive for a maximum of five-and-a-half hours before they must take a break.
Drivers completing journeys of more than 50km, such as coaches, must take a break after four-and-a-half hours.
Unite has been lobbying the government to change the guidelines covering bus drivers and are currently in talks with the DfT.
“Drivers’ hours rules exist
Contd.
“Drivers’ hours rules exist to protect drivers and passengers,” said a DfT spokeswoman.
“To ensure that the balance is right between operational flexibility and road safety we are currently carrying out a review of the rules and gathering evidence on all these issues.”
Source: BBC 19July2009
The problem is not driving at night or the roads , it’s the actual drivers. If you have ever driven on roads in other countries you will know how bad the average zambian bus driver is. These people need to be retrained because most of these drivers are suicidal maniacs . Banning night time driving is like trying to cure a sickness by treating it’s symptoms and actually ignoring the cause. Driving at night is no different from driving in the day
BBC 25Mar2009 reported
Passengers across the UK have been hit by EU rules on working hours meant to protect drivers, bus companies say.
Under the EU drivers’ hours rule, drivers on routes longer than 50km are not allowed to work more than nine hours a day because they need more rest.
28Jun2002: the European Commission is preparing to tighten the rules for long-distance bus drivers.
The current rules for multi-crew coaches are indeed complicated.
They permit a coach with two or more drivers to travel for 22 hours by alternating.
Each driver can only spend four-and-a-half hours at the wheel, before he has to take a 45-minute break.
He could also take breaks of 15 minutes within the four-and-a-half hours period, which can be taken on the coach while moving.
indeed this pathetic trend of nite express should stop – we have lost lives man..Government should step in – we know its business but even during day light one can still make money. And infact RATSA Should start highway patrols and not chasing buses we have had enough
#20 what do you say of the mkushi-serenje road where the other bus rammed into a trailer.is it in a bad state as well.equally even the kasama accident.the road is not all that bad at least but the dick veered into the bush.
This is a long overdue call…..
IT’S NOT THE NIGHT TO BLAME. ACCIDENTS CAN HAPPEN @ ANY TIME HENCE THE WORD ACCIDENT!!! HOW ABOUT THE L-STONE ACCIDENT WAS IT IN THE NIGHT? THE KAWAMBWA ACCIDENT WAS IT IN THE NIGHT? LET’S LOOK AT OUR ROADS BEFORE WE BLAME THE NITE!