The Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) says it is engaging Chiefs and Village Headmen on the need to sensitize their subjects on road safety in a bid to reduce the number of road accidents.
RTSA Chief Executive Officer Zindaba Soko says since Chiefs and Headmen are strategic partners to sensitize their subjects in chiefdoms, his Agency has targeted them in its effort to sensitize the rural community on road safety .
Mr. Soko reducing the number of road carnages cannot be done by RTSA alone but with the involvement of stakeholders like the traditional leaders.
ZANIS reports the RTSA Chief Executive Officer however regretting in an interview that his Agency is working closely with the Zambia Police Service, the Ministry of Communications and Transport and other law enforcement agencies in an effort to reverse the high number of RTAs in the country.
He urged motorists to adhere to the highway Code all the time.
Mr. Soko warned that the Agency would not relent to implement the measures it is mandated to do in order to bring sanity on the Zambian roads.
Recently, Police released that Zambia recorded over 7,000 RTAs last year from January to December.
What is RTAs? Dont just invent your own acronyms are you now twitting or reporting?
The first solution to preventing and reducing road accidents in Zambia is to fire Zindaba Soko, this chap has no idea of what ought be done to prevent and stop road accidents in Zambia. What to headmen have to do with trucks and buses hitting into each other and killing people?
I understand that before he was appointed as RTSA Chief Executive Officer by his brother-in-law (Christopher Yaluma) Zindaba Soko was a transport officer (Head driver) in Ministry of finance…… No offence but being able to drive does not mean that you can run RTSA and prevent accidents.
GRZ, recruit someone who understands road safety and can head research to understand why we have so many road accidents.
RTSA APPEARS TO BE A BUNCH OF *****S AND FOOLS. I CAN’T BELIEVE RTSA THINK THE HEADMEN CAN SOLVE ROAD CANAGE. ARE THE BUS DRIVERS AND BUS CONDUCTORS EMPLOYED FROM VILLAGES IN ORDER FOR THE HEADMEN TO CALL THEM TO THEIR KANGAROO COURTS? I WRITE AND MANY OTHER BLOGGERS DO, ABOUT HOW TO DRASTICALLY REDUCE ROAD CANAGE. BUT ALL THE ADVICES FALL ON DEAF EARS OR SIMPLY DEAD BRAINS. ONE EXAMPLE OF A COUNTRY WHERE THERE’S DECENCY IN DRIVING WHICH IS REFLECTIVE OF THEIR EFFECTIVE DRIVER-TRAINING SYSTEM IS BRITAIN. ONCE UPON A TIME ZAMBIA HAD UBZ (United Buses of Zambia OR was it United Bus Company of Zambia?). IT WAS Headline NEWS TO FOR AN ACCIDENT INVOLVING UBZ. THIS WAS BECAUSE ACCIDENTS INVOLVING UBZ ALMOST NEVER HAPPENED.
THIS APPLIED TO EVEN THE POLICE FORCE, THE ARMY (AND LATER ON ZAMBIA NATIONAL SERVICE). THIS WAS DUE TO THE COMPREHENSIVE AND EFFECTIVE TRAINING BY MIMOSA AND OTHER BODIES(the police, army and national service- I almost forgot the ambulance drivers). FEW YEARS, AFTER INDEPENDENCE I HEAR THE DISCIPLINE LEFT BY THE COLONIAL SYSTEM WAS STILL THERE. HOWEVER, THAT WAS SHORT-LIVED. DISCIPLINE STARTED GETTING OUT OF THE WINDOW WITH AMAENDELE (UNCONTROLLED FREEDOM). TODAY ALL THE SYSTEMS ARE CORRUPT (STARTING FROM KK HIMSELF) AND NO ONE SEEMS TO BE IN CONTROL. GOOD WAYS OF TRAINING PEOPLE INCLUDING DRIVING WENT. IN FACT THERE’S NO SYSTEMATIC WAY OF TRAINING DRIVER APART FROM THE VERY CORRUPT RTSA.
RTSA ARE SO CORRUPT ANY ID!OT LIKE THEM CAN PASS THEIR PRACTICAL-ONLY TEST AS LONG AS THAT 1DIOT HAS GOT MONEY. MOST BUS DRIVERS ARE CONDUCTORS WHO LEARN DRIVING AT THE BUS STATION WHILE THE BUSES ARE LOADING. THEY DRIVE THE BUS BACK-AND-FORTH TO THE DETEST OF PASSENGERS WHO COMPLAIN AT THIS AND RTSA DON’T HAVE EARS TO HEAR. THE FOLLOWING DAY THE SAME CONDUCTORS GO FOR ROAD TEST WITH MONEY AND PASS AT ONCE. SO, IF PEOPLE EXPECT TO EVER REACH THEIR DESTINATIONS WITH SUCH DRIVERS THEY ARE EQUALLY JOKERS. IT’S HIGH TIME WE STARTED RE-COPYING FEW OF THE GOOD THINGS FROM OUR COLONIAL MASTERS- DRIVER TRAINING BEING ONE OF THE MOST EXCELLENT FROM BRITAIN.
JUST VISIT BRITAIN- YOU MAY, LITERALLY, NOT HEAR ANY OF THE DRIVERS HORNING/HOOTING EVEN AFTER LIVING IN THE UK FOR TWO YEARS. THE FOLLOWING IS WHEN A DRIVER IS ALLOWED TO HORNE: ”
A horn should only be used when warning someone of danger, not to indicate your annoyance at a manner of driving.
A horn should not be sounded when stationary on a road at anytime, other than at times of danger due to another vehicle on or near the road.
A horn should not be used on a moving vehicle on a restricted road (basically a road that has street lights and a 30mph limit) between the times of 2330hrs and 0700hrs.”
ANOTHER EXCELLENCE FROM THEM IS A QUEUE PRINCIPLE. THE BRITISH PEOPLE ALWAYS RESPECT EACH OTHER BY FORMING UP A QUEUE WHEN THEY HAPPEN TO BE MORE THAN ONE PERSON SEEKING A SERVICE AT ANY TIME AND ANY PLACE. TO THEM IT IS EFFECTIVELY, “FIRST COME FIRST SERVE”.
THE QUESTION IS, WHY NOT COPY SUCH EXCELLENCE FROM OUR COLONIAL MASTERS-THE BRITISH PEOPLE?. IN ZAMBIA BEFORE ONE EVEN LANDS AT THE AIRPORT THE FIRST THING ONE HEARS IS A CAR HORNE. ALL DRIVERS WARN (or confuses) A PEDESTRIAN BY HORNING. CAN’T OUR DRIVER POSSESS SOME COMMON SENSE TO THINK THAT HORNING CONFUSES PEDESTRIANS AS WELL AS THE DRIVING PUBLIC?
I also suspect intelligence of that Zindaba.
He should spend all his time at provincial minister offices and MPs. Constituency funds can be used to cut grass along roads.
ZNS in each province can patch up roads. Etc.
Hold your fire!! He’s talking about accidents caused by villagers on foot and bicycles crossing highways recklessly. In some cases domestic animals such as goats, donkeys and cows have been culprits.
How about thinking before typing.
Also the Villagers have a tendency to ransack accident vehicles, you would not believe how they go through dead and alive victims pockets and belongings to get cash and valuables. Victims entrapped in the wreckage are sadly ignored and searched for valuables.
Are Headmen and villagers really key players in causing accidents on our roads compared to bad driving and unfit vehicles?
Do you know that using vehicle tracking, you can see remotely which bus is overspeeding when it comes to public transport buses. All you need is to enforce that every bus should have this system. This is just an idea, perfect it and implement urgently, since you say most accidents are due to overspeeding
MATEYO @3, THAT IS AN EXCELLENT SUGGESTION. BUT, YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY SUGGESTED TO RTSA THAT ALL PUBLIC TRANSPORT BUS GET INSTALLED WITH “VEHICLE TRACKING” SYSTEMS. I HAVE READ A FEW BLOGGERS SUGGEST THAT BUT THOSE SUGGESTIONS ALWAYS FALL ON DEAF EARS. ANOTHER THING IS- BEFORE ALL ZAMBIA’S LONG DISTANCE ROADS ARE TURNED INTO DUAL CARRIAGE WAYS, ALL ROADS MUST NOT ONLY BE MARKED BUT PROPERLY MARKED.
NAOMI @2, THAT TELLS YOU THE CALIBRE OF PEOPLE RUNNING RTSA. REALLY, BALIBE NZELU. THEIR HEADS ARE VERY EMPTY. I WAS SHOCKED WHEN I READ THEIR PLEA TO HEADMEN. WITH THES EEMPTY HEADS WE HAVE MORE ROAD CANAGES IN OFFING.
Just to add on I was really ebarenced when I come ax cross Road signed on Kabwe Lusaka ? Be small writing
Agree that Mr. Soko is inept and does not know what RATSA should be doing such as placing and enforcing speed limits, naming streets in urban areas, petrolling highways and urban streets for poor driving by minibus drivers, advising RDA on safe road construction, removal of vehicles that break on roads and highways, teaching road safety and above all COURTESY by all road users including minibus drivers, etc, etc. It is noticeable that every time government releases money to RATSA, Soko goes on ROADSHOWS all over the country including traditional ceremonies. Shame.