An attempt to save the life of one man, believed to be mentally ill, ended up costing a bus company the lives of 11 passengers while injuring several others when a Johabe bus careered off the road yesterday.
Up to 11 people died on the spot yesterday while others sustained serious injuries when a Scania Marcopolo overturned along the Great East Road at Rufunsa, according to police.
Acting public relations officer Charity Munganga said that the mishap occurred between 09:30 and 10:00 hours at a place known as Kanyongoloka Two in Rufunsa.
There were 70 passengers on board including the conductor and the driver.
The bus belongs to Johabe Bus Services and the dead have not yet been identified while the bus is believed to have been badly damaged.
The details of the accident, according to Ms Munganga, are that the accident happened when the driver of the bus, Zuze Mwanamambo, 35, of Lusaka’s Chipata township avoided hitting a suspected mental patient walking in the middle of the road.
She said the bus, registration No. ALC 818, was heading for Chipata from Lusaka.
“The driver is among the people who are seriously injured and he is also admitted to Mupasha Hospital. We are not yet sure if the suspected mental patient is among the 11 people who have died,” she said.
Ms Munganga said 14 of the admitted are conscious and able to talk while the others are in a critical state. The 14 include one female who is in the intensive care unit, one male child and 12 adult males.
She said 10 bodies have been taken to University Teaching Hospital mortuary and one body is at Mupasha Hospital.
Road traffic accidents have left about 51 people dead in various parts of the country in the past two months.
Eleven people died in two separate accidents, one in Eastern Province claiming eight lives, including three children, while the other in Lusaka resulted in four deaths.
In Lundazi, eight people died on the spot while nine others sustained serious injuries when a Toyota Hiace minibus in which they were travelling collided with a Mercedes Benz truck.
Seven people died while 25 others sustained severe injuries in two separate accidents which happened when a Mitsubishi canter overturned along Kaputa-Mporokoso road.
Another three people died in two accidents in Eastern and Northern provinces. In the Petauke accident, two people died on the spot after a Mitsubishi Canter carrying 13 passengers rammed into a moving unregistered motor bike.
Eleven people died at Kamunga area along the Pemba/Choma road in Monze when the driver of the truck registration No. ACP 9975 and trailer registration no ACL 8882 belonging to Quatrol Co Limited of Kitwe, failed to maintain its lane, while negotiating a corner.
In the process, the truck collided with a minibus registration No. GRZ 645 BL which was coming from the opposite direction.
[Zambia Daily Mail]
Drivers, learn from this ugly accident. You slow down or stop if you see a danger ahead of you.
Did the person the driver was trying to avoid hitting just leap into the road or was he walking on the road?
It is very sad that so many people have died and been injured.
#1 walasa
RTSA be strict when issuing PSV licenses. Hw do u avoid one person and kill eleven? I need to hold a meetn with all transport official.
The drivers must be educated on about wats called lesser evil. Wen u are faced with such a moment wen it either u hit 1 person on da rd all ve more than one killed on board in trying to save one. Saving alot is better.
The drivers must be educated on wats called lesser evil. Wen u are faced with such a moment wen it either u hit 1 person on da rd all ve more than one killed on board in trying to save one. Saving alot is better.
Road accidents in zambia are now a normal occurence. Sad thing is that there is no political will by those in govt to find lasting solutions to these issues. Pliz mr sata, look into the issue of roads, we have lost and we continue to loose too many of our loved ones. Something can surely be done. Statistics of road accidents in zambia have reached disaster levels……Twapapata ba pf, save our lives!!!!!
faza walya dd ma sacrifice for pama fi, the soon u realise this the better we remove this pf. 2016 is too far, we have to find means and ways to get pama fi out
Too bad.may God comfort the bereaved.
The law enforcers are very asleep. Some of these accidents are avoidable. We need a very strong law on speed limit on all passenger vehicles. Another contributing factor is that these bus drivers are over worked by the bus owners. How do you expect a normal person to driver from chipata to lusaka and back without resting? PF pliz look into this issue..
ALL THESE ACCIDENTS ARE DUE TO DRIVERS’ INADEQUATE TRAINING. DRIVING LICENSES IN ARE ZAMBIA ARE EVEN ON FAECES (OR S.H.I.T IF U LIKE). MY SUGGESTION TO PF GOVT IS- COPY THE WAY DRIVERS OF VEHICLES ARE TRAINED. THERE TWO TESTS WRITTEN AS WELL AS PRACTICAL. WHEN YOU GET A DRIVER LICENSE IN THE UK YOU HAVE TRULY EARNED IT. I DON’T KNOW HOW MANY ACCIDENTS WE WOULD BE HAVING PER MINUTE ON THE UK ROADS IF DRIVING LICENSES WERE EASY TO ACQUIRE. THIS IS ALSO BACKED UP BY THE LAWS. THE RESPONSIBILITY THAT COMES WITH CAUSING AN ACCIDENT IS A DETERRENT IN ITSELF. IN ZAMBIA DRINK-DRIVING IS SO COMMON PLACE SUCH THAT EVEN THE TRAFFIC POLICE OFFICER WHO IS INSPECTING VEHICLES IS ALWAYS DRUNK- HE SMELLS LIKE A BREWERY ON DUTY. IN THIS CASE THERE MUST ALSO BE A GUARD FOR THE GUARD…
Not trying to be insensitive or anything but the life of the disabled fella was too costly 11 to 1,driving a bus with that many on board the driver shouldn’t have swerved…
from#7
ROAD DESIGN: ITS LONG OVER-DUE ROADS IN ZAMBIA WERE DUAL CARRIAGE WAYS. ALL INTER-CITY AND OTHER LONG DISTANCE ROADS MUST BE TURNED INTO DUAL CARRIAGES TO AVOID HEAD ON COLLISIONS AND OTHER RELATED ONE CARRIAGE ACCIDENTS. IN THE UK ITS ALMOST TOTALLY IMPOSSIBLE FOR A PEDESTRIAN TO CROSS THE MOTOR WAY. ALL MOTOR WAYS MUST BE BUILT AS SUCH. IN BOTSWANA ALL MOTOR WAYS ARE WIRE-FENCED OFF TO AVOID BOTH ANIMALS AND HUMAN BEINGS SUDDENLY CROSSING THE ROADS WHICH MAY RESULT INTO FETAL ROAD ACCIDENTS. EVEN THEN ITS A SERIOUS OFFENCE FOR AN INDIVIDUAL TO CROSS A MOTOR WAY THAT IS IF ONE CAN VENTURE AND MANAGE TO CROSS A MOTOR WAY WITH A CONTINUOUS FLOW OF TRAFFIC. SO, CARE DESIGN OF INFRASTRUCTURE COUPLED WITH STRINGENT LAWS CAN AVOID COMMON PLACE AND UN NECESSARY ACCIDENTS…
from#9
DUAL CARRIAGES ROADS HAVE ALSO AN ADVANTAGE OF EASY OF FUTURE ROAD EXPANSION. THEY CAN ALSO CARRY TRANSMISSION LINES IN BETWEEN CARRIAGES AS THERE’S SOME AMOUNT OF SAFETY AND SECURITY IN SO DOING. THERE IS ALSO REVENUE COLLECTED INDIRECTLY THROUGH EXTRA PURCHASE OF FUEL BY DRIVERS WHO LOSE THEIR WAYS CARELESSLY- TO RECOVER YOUR ROUTE WHEN YOU MISS YOUR DIRECTIONS TAKES A FEW TENS OR HUNDREDS OF KILOMETRES- HENCE THE NEED TO REFUEL AT YOUR NEXT GAS STATION. HENCE, MORE MONEY IN GVT POCKETS, IN TURN MORE MONEY IN PEOPLES’ POCKETS..
#8 YOU ARE NOT INSENSITIVE. BUT THIS IS WHOLE ABOUT DRIVING LESSON INADEQUACY. THEY ONLY DO PRACTICALS AND NO THEORY. THEORY TEACHES YOU TO WEIGH THE SITUATION OVER AND DETERMINE THAT YOUR OBLIGATION IS TO SERVE ELEVEN PEOPLE AND NOT A SINGLE PERSON OR ANIMAL.
…UNFORTUNATELY, MOST ZAMBIAN DRIVERS (IF NOT TRAINED OVERSEAS) ONLY KNOW HOW TO DRIVE THE MACHINE AND NOT HOW TO REASON WHEN DRIVING THAT MACHINE ON THE ROAD. DON’T YOU WONDER WHY SUDDENLY WHEN YOU GO FOR HOLIDAY TO ZAMBIA HOW THE HELL DRIVERS USE THE HORN TO DRIVE? ASK YOURSELF WHEN YOU LAST HEARD A HOOTER IN THE UK. I ONLY GET REMINDED THAT ALL CARS WERE MADE WITH HOOTER/HORNS WHEN I GO TO ZAMBIA. IS IT NOT COMMON SENSE THAT HONING TO A PEDESTRIAN IS ACTUALLY CONFUSING HIM/HER? IF IT IS COMMON SENSE, THEN CAN WE CONCLUDE THAT ALL DRIVERS IN ZAMBIA LACK COMMON SENSE? THE ANSWER IS , YES.
In the Mighty name of our Lord Jesus Christ we bind any demonic activities upon our beloved Nation ZAMBIA. Cover this nation with the Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. We declare war angaist these Evil spirits in Jesus name!!!!!!!
YOU NOT EVERYTHING IS GOOD IN BRITAIN. BUT, THERE ARE A GOOD NUMBER OF THINGS IN WHICH BRITAIN CHAMPIONS IN TERMS OF STANDARDS. DRIVING IS ONE OF THEM AMONGST MANY OTHER THINGS. IT’S A WONDER WHY ZAMBIA HAVING BEEN ONE OF THE PRINCIPLE COLONIES OF BRITAIN, HASN’T COPIED SOME OF THE GOOD WAYS OF DOING THINGS. THE ONLY THINGS WE COPY FROM THE HIGHLY INDUSTRIALIZED WORLD IS IMMORALITY. I AM PRETTY SURE BRITAIN WOULD BE MORE THAN WILLING TO SHARE THEIR STANDARDS IN DRIVING LESSONS AND STATE-OF-THE-ART ROAD CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGIES.
#13. “…demonic activities…”.
MY FRIEND STOP BEING A FANTASIST. DEMONIC ACTIVISTS ARE ZAMBIANS THEMSELVES. THEY SHOULD FORMULATE GOOD LAWS FOR THEMSELVES AND OBEY THOSE GOOD LAWS. THEY SHOULD ADOPT GOOD WAYS OF INFRASTRUCTURE DESIGN BEFORE YOU START MENTIONING JEHOVAH GOD. MIND YOU, “GOD helps those who help themselves.”
ITS WAS BAD THE SIGHT – YOU CAN’T LIKE IT AT ALL I SAW THESE A-VICTIMS AT UTH BID- . KILL ONE SAVE MANY. THE LAW SHOULD LOOK INTO THIS, NOT JUST MUDER BY DANGEROUS DRIVING RUBBISH , THIS GUY FEARED TO BE LOCKED UP BY POLICE, CAN THESE STICKING POLICE STOP ARREST PEOPLE ON SUCH GROUNDS. SCHOOL, ROADS, DRIVING SKILL PLUS GOOD EYE SIGHT ARE IMPORTANT. MAD MAN, ITS THE DEMON ON THE ROAD. KILL IT ALL THE SAME THE BUS WILL OVERTURN LEAR TO PRAY BEFORE DRIVER SUCH NUMBER OF PEOPLE.
SPEEDING- WITHOUT THINKING IS WRONG
I remember one driving school that used to teach driving lessons both THEORY and PRACTICAL very well ( Zambian School of driving ). This school, could even teach what we call DEFENSIVE Driving. Has it stopped? Such schools must be brought back or the government should help to re-establish them, and I think this could help.
It is a tragic accident. Condolences to families of the deceased from this accident. Here are some of the causes of road traffic accidents: 1. Poorly trained or untrained drivers, 2. Drunk driving, 3. Driving with one hand off the steering (using cell phone or eating), 4. Over speeding (passengers do not caution such drivers), 3. Unnecessarily taking eyes off the road.
Possible remedies include : 1. Increased vigilance by RATSA and Traffic Police in enforcing traffic law and punishing offenders, 2. Placing RATSA officers as incognito passengers on some buses at random to gather objective data on behaviour of bad drivers, 3. Stiffen penalties for road traffic offenses e.g. 2 year license forfeiture and fine for drunk driving and remand in cells for 24 to 36 , heavy fine for over speeding
:( Don’t blame the driver, such is why it’s called an accident, at full speed then suddenly there is a person in the middle of the road where he or she is walking can instinctively one will tend to avoid the person but this unconsciously puts the people in the vehicle at risk!! ACCIDENT!
Full speed what range??? In residential areas of near road side vendors a good drive can be very careful driving at 30-50km/h allowers him to brake in case of a suddenly and unexpected incidence. Here I am driving in very slippery roads in winter .. only higher speeding results into vehicle skiding off the road expecialy when negotiating a bend or corner :(
Upon completing of the two year forfeiture of driving license, the offending driver should go back to driving school. Traffic offenses should also be graded so as to attract penalty points. A driver who accumulates say 10 points should be banned from driving for 2 years. Traffic Police involved in bribery should face stiff penalty. Put speed limiters in buses and trucks.
This is of no excuse to driver. He should have slowed down and stop .. Lack of good trainers is a cotribution factor. What to do in case of emergency?? Car maintanance for road worth must be checked every year for over 3yrs old from new brand.
Out of 70 people only 11 died on the spot? How, looking at the damage on the bus i think 80% died MTSRIP, if the mentaly ill is alive , kill him alive
iwe “PETER ” u are finishing space for constructive comments, is it your first time commenting on an online newspaper, iam sure u were so happy to see that what u typed u could see it. Stop also typing in capital letters its lke u are annoyed and insulting . u are a villager from mwansabombwe????????
what is happening in our country god
Such a sad occurence.Stiff fines for overloading,drunk driving,bribe taking and outright revocation of driving permits should send a chill to the merchants of death.With fewer cars its sad that we get so many accidents.Its the same sad statistic with planes- with about five percent of the world’s planes we have more than half of fatal plane crashes in africa.