Tuesday, March 19, 2024

UPND decries banning of importation of second hand tyres

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Second Hand Tyres
Second Hand Tyres

The UPND says the banning of imported tires will have disastrous implications for motorists if implemented.

UPND Chairperson for Labour said implementing the said ban will just create a problem of smuggling of second hand tyres which will result in loss of revenue.

He said as opposed to banning importation of second hand tyres in order to reduce the loss of lives on the road RTSA should instead look at other areas of concern which have contributed to the carnage on the road.

Below is the statement as issued by the UPND.

The issue of banning the usage of imported second hand tires will be disastrous if implemented by the Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA). Motorists somehow will be buying and using worse off tyres than the current second hand ones. This will just make people worse off under the harsh economy of the PF Government. The Zambian economy is on its knees and you will just create a problem of smuggling second tyres which will result in loss of revenue. In any case Ba RTSA are you aware that some of the so called new tyres are of inferior quality compared to the second hand tyres you are condemning?

For me RTSA should seriously look at the three issues as the main cause of loss of lives on our roads, which is very regrettable.

  1. Attitude of drivers towards the road traffic rules (minds of men)
  2. Drunkenness while driving
  3.  The care given to the injured immediately after the accident and before the accident victim is transported to the nearest medical centre/hospital.

I will try to go point by point. What has the second hand tyre got to do with a driver who carelessly parks his vehicle in the middle of the high way and starts loading passengers and cargo? What has the second hand tyre got to do with a broken down vehicle left on the middle of the road without proper warning to the other road users? What has the second hand tyre got to do with careless driving i.e. overtaking on a curve or a continuous line and over speeding? Vandalism also is very high on our roads often you find a very vital road sign either completely remove or defaced and this has nothing to do with the second hand tyre but our attitude as citizens of our Country,” he said.

For driving under the influence of alcohol it’s obvious that good judgment is compromised. There is no two ways about this issue. You may not agree with me here, but why is it that during the festival periods and other holidays accidents are on the increase? It’s simply because people travel from one point to the other when they have taken a “few”. Excitement indeed!! Are you going to ban beers in the Country as well?

They say the time between the accident and when medical attention is rendered to the accident victim means between life and death. How many Zambians can competently apply First Aid and transport the injured victim to the nearest medical center safely without killing the victim? All what we know is to rush the injured to the Hospital and yet one of the Golden rules of First Aid is that “Do not move the injured person from the scene of accident (unless circumstances of danger make it imperative to do so) until things like fractures, control of bleeding and respiration are attended to” Those who die on the way to hospital are actually killed by us due to lack of First Aid knowledge.

Even the way we handle the injured person complicates the injuries or kill them. Imagine a person with a neck injury involving the spine being handled in a rough Zambia Police /RTSA manner of Gwila uko. I’m pretty sure that even RTSA officials do not have the First Aid competence to attend to the injured competently let alone our Traffic Officers.

If indeed second hand tyres immensely contribute to the high number of accidents I would like to see the supporting statistics especially for small vehicles. Owning a car is not a luxury to call for punishment from RTSA. There are a lot of people out there owning cars that do not go outside their towns. They simply use such cars to and from work. So what is the risk of such vehicles using second hand tyres? It’s not a crime to own a vehicle or indeed to be turned into the main contributor to the Government revenue or worse off ATM. RTSA should concentrate on changing the mind set of most drivers who day in day out misbehave on our roads hence putting other road users at a great risk.

The issue of drivers license should also be looked into, we all in this country posses a clean driver’s license. What RTSA should do is find a unique perforator to be perforating drivers licenses of those committing serious crimes if the number of perforation exceed three the license must be withdrawn and be banned from driving for say a year. In no time you find people behaving themselves on our roads and the accident rate will significantly go down.

Banning the use of second hand tyres leaves me with no option but to think that the institution has no competent personnel to think of the way out of dealing with dangerous and useless drivers.

Percy Chanda
UPND – Chairman for Labour and Social Security.

22 COMMENTS

    • Why do Zambians like second hand things kanshi? From underwears, duvet, curtains, shoes, clothings, handbags, wedding dresses, everything kamo other people rubbish? I left Zambia before salaula started, when i was born my dad bought my mom a sewing machine, so i grew up wearing moms designs or clothes from Mother Care & Oxendales catalogues, Bata shoes to ZCBC underwears, not ifyama SALAULA. atase!!

    • Why is it that these second hand tyres have a problem with the Lusaka-Kapiri road where most of the accidents occur?
      Or is it just another classic case of our uneducated “educated” people who only learnt how to speak broken english at school.
      Zindaba Soko, RDA & all road sector players can do better than this if they wish to curb road carnage.

  1. These PF thieves only want to promote Chinese tires which are worse than second hand tires from Japan. The cause of many accidents in Zambia is reckless driving

  2. If you ask me RASTA there is the solution what is your take. Do statistics show that tyre busts are the major causers of traffic accidents, if not why ban them. What do you think of perforating drivers licenses.

  3. Even in developed coin tries they sale used tyres but what they’re strictly on is Road Legal Tread on a tyre. Germany is strict on Tread and seasonal tyres by law.
    The fact that a tyre is new is no guarantee that its safe. I’ve seen Brand new Chinese tyre in Zambia that won’t last weeks or a month because a poor and low standard compound material used in manufacturing and I’ve seen quality second hand tyres that are durable than new ones. For instances in Germany and Austria the road legal Tread on a tyre is 4mm while in UK its below that and in Zambia people drive even hen all tread is gone on a tyre. And the penalties for illegal tyre in UK is £2500.00 per tyre on cars and £5000.00 on trucks and buses, plus penalty points on licence.
    In Zambia because of incompetence they just…

  4. It does not make sense to own a car and you cannot afford new tyres!Dont own it if you cannot.Yes,sometimes life is rough but that can be handled by buying used tyres that can be bought from the second hand market created from local used tyres-we cannot be importing used tyres.Ba UPND,in your quest to gain popularity please be rational or else you will lose your relevance.ABASH IMPORTED USED TYRES!

  5. In the first place tyres have speed ratings; the higher speed tyres are usually more expensive than the lower speed rated tyres. That is the crux of the matter. Zambian drivers do not even know this and will blame tyre bursts for accidents, consequently blaming tyre manufacturers in the process – all out of ignorance. Now secondhand tyres need to vetted for things like bulges (broken internal wires), poor tread, and age among others. This seems to be absent in our secondhand tyre sales. So we should be strengthening overall car fitness governance as opposed to imposing bans on products. It is not as simple as it looks.

  6. Why do Zambians like second hand things kanshi? From underwears, duvet, curtains, shoes, clothings, handbags, wedding dresses, everything kamo other people rubbish? I left Zambia before salaula started, when i was born my dad bought my mom a sewing machine, so i grew up wearing moms designs or clothes from Mother Care & Oxendales catalogues, Bata shoes to ZCBC underwears, not ifyama SALAULA. atase!

  7. At least something sensible has come out of this mouth. Rather than ban secondhand tires, concentrate on ensuring that perpetual offenders are booked and depending on number of bookings, the D/license confiscated for a while. For situations like a worn out tire a replacement must be fitted before the vehicle can be released.

  8. Knee jerk reaction!!! How many accidents have been attributed to second hand tyres!? Do u know the cost of a ‘new’ tyre in this failed economy? RTSA is failed project too many tom boys!!!

  9. Maybe its got quality, nomba Ba pipo mulaponta home is home no matter wat,now how can u say Zambia y do they like second hand sure?it’s not all my dear.lol

  10. I not against or in support. But I will blame ourselves for allowing our own Tyre making companies to go under. We had Dunlop, Consolidated Tyre services and others. Result? Eat anything that comes your way.

  11. ON THIS CASE, I WOULD RATHER TAKE A NEUTRAL STANCE. HOWEVER, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT ONE OF THE THINGS POLICE CHECK FOR WHEN THEY MOUNT ROADBLOCKS IS WORN OUT & DEFECTIVE TYRES. THIS BEING THE CASE THEN, ITS THE POLICE WHO ARE TO BLAME FOR FAILING TO ARREST THE SITUATION. WHEN A VEHICLE HAS A DEFECTIVE TYRE, IMPOUND IT UNTIL THE OWNER BUYS A NEW TYRE. NOT CURRENT SITUATION WHERE A VEHICLE FOR INSTANCE WHICH IS OVERLOADED IS ALLOWED TO PAY A FINE & PROCEED. WHATS SUPPOSE TO HAPPEN IS ASK THE PERSON TO OFFLOAD EXCESS LOAD & COME BACK FOR IT

  12. Do we understand those markings on the sides of types? Are we aware of the code that shows the week and year when the tyre was manufactured? Are we aware that types are made to expire after 4 to 6 years depending on terrain conditions and frequency of use? Are we aware of the temperature gradings for hot and cold climates? Do we know that treads on the tyre are not enough to determine the safety of the tyre? Do we even have tyre experts at RTSA? While I am in full support of the ban, I feel people have not been given full information to understand the dangers of using expired tyres. Yes, new tyres have become prohibitively expensive but which is more expensive between your own safety and saving for new tyres every three years? Safety is not a game of chance. The only thing between you in…

  13. The only thing between you in the vehicle and the road is the tyre. If your tyres are good, you are safe. Tyre issues make just one side of the issue. We have bigger problems of unrestrained drivers and passengers who easily get ejected from vehicles when accidents happen thus increasing the number of fatalities. Seat belts save lives! We also have the problem of distracted and sleepy tired drivers who fail the discipline of keeping to their lane. We also have unlicensed and I’ll- trained drivers and very few drivers trained in defensive driving. We have neglected drug abuse by drivers and we just concentrate on alcohol. Why can’t we just have RTSA to deal with traffic issues instead of the duplication we have with police traffic division which is perceived as more corrupt than RTSA?

  14. People in pf sud think of it means using finished tyres bcoz thy can’t afford new ones hence tyre busts will continue

  15. Rubber, specifically tyres have a life span of 5 years. Does anyone know what residual life span, these tyres come with? Not even the sellers, who like in Soweto Area, are mostly UPND supporters. Why being selfish & even use the political platform to drive selfish & personal interests of protecting your silly & effortless business? When are you going to learn to put Zambia first? UNPATRIOTIC & UNGRATEFUL PEOPLE.

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