12 people have died while 23 others sustained injuries after an accident which happened around 02:45 hours on 21st February 2014 near Frogmall located about 15Km from Mazabuka. Out of the 12, one died on the way to the University Teaching Hospital.
This is according to a press statement released by Zambia police spokesperson Charity Munganga-Chanda.
The accident happened when the driver of the South African Front Liner truck Reg. No. WXV 588GB and WXZ 598 T failed to keep to his lane as he was trying to avoid hitting into a cyclist. The truck in the process collided with an on-coming Marcopolo bus Reg. No. AJB 1652. Both drivers of the motor vehicles died on the spot. The bus was travelling from Namwala to Lusaka.
Some of the injured have been rushed to UTH while others are in Mazabuka District Hospital. The bodies of the deceased are lying in Mazabuka District Hospital mortuary.
Firstly my heart goes out to the families of those who lost their lives this morning.
Now you PF id..oits listen carefully.This is why we wanted Prof Chirwa to build high speed trains in Zambia.So people do not have to rely on these dangerous roads,so people can reach places of business safely and in the shortest possible time.How many lives must we lose before you Id..its wake up!
The Lusaka/Chirundu/Livingstone T1 & T3 major roads I think that’s their prefixes are major roads for the survival of the Zambian economy! It beggars belief that after 50years yes half a century of independence these roads have not been upgraded to dual carriage ways! Unbelievable! You have all these Chinese constructors just widening the roads and making it even more dangerous as African drivers have no road courtesy whatsoever. When the road is wider, it gives them a leeway to drive in the middle of the road whilst sipping on gin and juice. Link zambia 8000! Hell no! Dual-carriage majors roads 3000 or whatever number you want but the 3 main roads are well know and the accidents on them well documented. Great east road, great north road, Lusaka – Livingston, Lusaka-Chirundu
I conquer with @One Hit Wonder
Please, dual-carriage these fckn major T# roads! It’s been enough!
And the idi0ts responsible will consider none of these suggestions! u wonder what we can do.
BUT PROF CHIRWA IS A TOO POMPOUS IIDDIOT. HE WAS GIVEN A CHANCE AND PEOPLE REALLY BANKED ON HIM BUT JUST CAME TO DO RAABISH. TRULY HE HAD BRIGHT IDEAS BUT HE FORGOT THE REPORTING STRUCTURE AND JUST WENT IT ALONE. HE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE REPORTING BACK TO THE APPOINTING AUTHORITY WHATEVER WAS GOING ON. BESIDES I THINK HE GAVE CONTRACTS TO A COMPANY/COMPANIES WHERE HE HAD INTEREST. WHICH BECAME LIKE CUTTING A CAKE AND EATING IT HIMSELF. HE IS ENTIRELY TO BLAME. ZAMBIAN LOCAL ENGINEERS ALSO FELT JEALOUS THAT HE WAS GOING TO MAKE AND SO SABOTAGED HIM. BAMUTEYA KALIBA.
Guys, i believe we got to be objective on this one..i want to first of all believe that these accidents happening are not in anyway the act of sata-nizm…lets take time to assess the skills, stress levels etc of these drivers, otherwise we’ll be sheltering ourselves in the name of sata-nizm whilst the real coz is something else…
This tonga cyclist 02:45 where were going with a bicycle with no lights??,,, your friends fly on a broom or in a lubango and dont cause accidents.. i recommend cycling lessions to all tonga cyclists before many lives are lost.. that cycling clause am recommendng to Sata to put in the new animal constitution for tonga cyclists,,
Otherwise RIP to the dead.
The greedy elite (the haulage firms like your GBM) were never going to allow those Chriwa plans to come to fruition. An efficient ZRL passenger service also means a much more reliable freight railway which entail means less gov’t contracts for them.
This is becoming very serious. Some thing needs to done. Now or never
This becoming very unbecoming – Sad! That’s is more loss of lives due to utter negligence. Collect toll charges on these roads or better still, privatise some portions of them so that they are run by private companies who will be able to maintain them thru revenue raised by toll charging. This will also stop police just mounting road blocks to line their pockets via ill-gotten bribery money.
is^
Sorry for the loss. May Lord God comfort the bereaved people.
Peace and Prosperity to Mother Zambia.
Is it just a coincidence there is a by-election on Tues?
ba mulenga mulekwata amano. what has pf done?
Please bring back Tata, Pew and nyopolani buses, these marcopolos will finish us. Those who want to travel fast and in luxury should either buy their own cars or fly. Something must be done about these accidents we cannot continue like this.
Please read the whole article…whatever design of the bus I doubt it if anybody would come out unhurt in a head-on collision at those speeds.
90 % of accidents involving buses are avoidable. Every person who drives knows and understands how dangerous it is to drive long distances at night, whether in Africa, Asia or Europe. Fatigue, poor vision, irresponsible drivers who never dim their lights, etc. we don’t need God to send his angels to come and reveal that to us! Why is it so difficult for the Government to make radical road safety rules? Why can’t the Government ban public buses from traveling long distances at night? Night patrols, cameras etc, Govt will say they have no resources for such, but banning night buses can be done and should be done.
But its the Truck driver who was at fault according to the article, he did not keep to his lane…if it the bus driver was travelling at the standard max speed of 80-100km/hr there is no way this accident could have been avoidable.
Just imagine, 1 driver leaving Mpulungu at 15:00 driving to Lusaka about 1,050 Km, arriving in Lusaka at 05:00 AM. The whole night lone driver on a narrow road!!! 90% of the accidents involving night buses are avoidable!! Ban night buses!!
No need to Ban Night travelling coz u serve time. Drivers v to JUST B serious. Us here in Asia we travell LONG DISTANCEST MOSTLY in the night coz there is NO TRAFFIC.
Infact how can one cause an Accident whn there is NO TRAFFIC. The CAUSE of this accident is DUE to Alcohol, Negligence & Speeding.
1. I wish you lived in Zambia and travelled on Ndola-Lusaka-Livingstone road at night, or Lusaka-Kapiri-Nakonde. You would have seen how these routes are busy at night with more 50% of vehicles on roads being Cargo Trucks
2. Even if there is no much traffic at night, accidents (buses) due to human error occur: poor night vision, fatigue, etc
3. I hope you understand now what I meant in last two blogs
I don’t agree with “no night buses” your policy would be very difficult to implement in a corrupt country like Zambia and is retrogressive. All these major roads are Kaunda roads. Give credit to the old geezer sometimes. A president worth his salt will embark on doubling up these roads as dual carriage ways with room for multi-lane highways nearer big cities and major motorways. Zambia doesn’t gave a single motorway. Ndola-Kitwe road is just a dual carriage way of about 50-70 miles only. That will be real development.
WHEN THE BIG VEHICLES MEET, THERE IS USUALLY DEAFENING NOISE/SOUND AS THE BIG ENGINES MEET.
THE CYCLIST, IF HE WAS NOT DEAF/DUMB, MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN AWARE OF THE NOISE COMING FROM EITHER BEHIND OR FROM IN FRONT.
THE WISEST THING DRIVERS COULD HAVE DONE WAS TO FLASH THE HEAD LIGHTS OR HOOT CONTINUOUSLY OR SIMPLY CLEAR THE CYCLIST IN DESPERATION OUT OF THE WAY RATHER ENDANGERING THEMSELVES AND THE LIVES OF SO MANY PEOPLE.
just kill the cyclist and serve many people
Banning night travelling is not the solution. It may even exacerbate the problem its aimed at resolving. Imagine shifting the night traffic to day. The result is unprecedented day traffic resulting in more traffic accidents owing to congestion, poor judgement, impatience, negligence, and speed.
The night Ban applies only to public long distance buses.
The right thing to is to ban night travelling reason is that all the fatal accidents are happening in the night as follows
1.Chibombo accidents happened happened between 02 and 04 hrs
2.Mazabuka accident happened at 2.45
What must be done is as follows
1.Ban all the Buses from moving at Night
2.Revolk the licence from the would be offenders
3.Random testing of of all the drivers and buses
4.Change the laws of Zambia from causing death by dangerous driving to murder
5.Or any one who causes death by dangerous driving more especially mini bus and bus including truck driver or this case should be non bailable
6.All buses before loading should be given a certificate of fittness to move at night such that any body that allows buses at night which are not fit should be jailed
IN BOTSWANA, HEAVY DUTY TRUCKS ARE NOT ALLOWED ON THE ROADS AFTER 1800HRS.
OUR NIGHT TRAVEL FROM GABORONE HOME, WAS JUST A PLEASURE AS WE ONLY BOTHERED OURSELVES WITH ANIMALS AND SMALL CARS AHEAD OF US.
Mulenga you an embarrassment because government has nothing to do with mazabuka accident e fact you are not mulenga just come out I have never see mulenga like you with no brain.
He is not. He has a point.
MTSRIP. cyclist at 02:30hrs? what ever the cause of the accident the loss of lives is just unbearable! worse still these are bread winners trying to make ends eet!
If you have driven long distance long enough, you will notice a certain behavorial trend with truck Drivers. Truck Drivers never ever slow down whenever there is something they want to avoid. They ALWAYS move to the side regardless if there is a vehicle overtaking or there is an on coming vehicle. Thats something you can all take as a lesson today, trust me on this. Even when you are overtaking a truck, try and see if there is no car parked on the side of the road that can cause it to move to your lane. Dual Carriage ways should have been a thing of the past! Why didn’t the truck driver hoot? Why go into the other lane just to avoid a Cyclist? Didn’t he see the bus coming? Such accidents really make me mad!!! We can’t be losing people like this for free!!
But why were there no such accidents under the MMD rule? I am asking ….
Oh my ! This makes sad reading.MTSRIP
God is watching,
MAY THE SOULS OF THE DEPARTED REST IN ETERNAL PEACE. The road in question require reconstruction as it has become a death trap really. Somethng must be done ASAP.
Bemba people do not sound so bitter! I doubt the credibility of the above ”Mulenga”. Anyway, pansaka tapabula ifinkula! May the souls of the departed rest in peace! What a painful death!
How many people need to die should we say no to night driving? Our roads have long tall grass that drivers can’t see afar. Yet money which could be used for people to slash. Along these roads is used for Sata’s bi elections. Who will rise up and lead a movement that says no to these accidents and waste of money by those thirsty for votes at the expense of national development and life?
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May their soul ret in peace.
Instead of baning busses travelling during the night, trucks are the ones to be banned like the way it is in Tanzania. Dual carriage to major roads is long over due.
At 02:45 a passenger bus traveling honestly! In Zambia we need to be serious and strict at the manner these buses and trucks are operating. It should become normal for these accidents to be occurring every now and then. Revamp the railway system so that people can travel safely! MTSRIP
It is time to dismiss all the punks at RTSA otherwise we will keep on mourning. It is obvious that either, they don’t know what to do, or they just don’t care.
The truck driver should have used defensive driving skills. As General put it, the lone cyclist should have been the one to clear in order to save many lives. That’s what they taught us at driving school.
Simple solution, divided highway: dual-carriageway avoids head-on collisions.
And who told them that the truck driver was avoiding a cyclist? coz all drivers died on spot.
Exactry
This isn’t the kind news you want to wake up to every other day as a nation! This is traumatizing.
May God rest the souls of those who died and grant quick recovery to those hurt from this unfortunate incident.
Do we need more deaths in order to act on building dual carriage ways or highways.
Haven’t the last number of deaths spoken enough?
Who else needs to die in such avoidable accidents in order for the message to go home to all concerned?
Bo Ndate Sata, pls, pls, I plead with the government to do what it takes to improve
Roads,
Road use
Vehicle maintenance
If need be, borrow money for roads and implement ‘toll gates’
We are sitting on a time bomb!!
No normal MP deserves a ‘sitting allowance’ until this is resolved
Death has spoken again…