Friday, March 29, 2024

All public buses to have Seat Belts by June 2017-RTSA

Share

RTSA Head of Public Relations Mr Fredrick Mubanga
RTSA Head of Public Relations Mr Fredrick Mubanga

The Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) has announced that all public service vehicles operating in Zambia will be mandated to have seat belts in line with Statutory Instrument No. 79 of 2016: The Road Traffic (Seat Belt and Child Car Seat) Regulations, 2016

RTSA Spokesman Fred Mubanga said the Minister of Transport and Communications issued the Statutory Instrument (SI) on Seat Belt and Child Car Seat. SI No. 79 of 2016 and is one of the SIs that existed under the repealed Roads and Road Traffic Act chapter 464 of the Laws of Zambia and has now been re-promulgated under the Road Traffic Act No. 11 of 2002.

Mr Mubanga said SI No. 76 of 2016 gives a grace period of six months for all vehicles that do not have seat belts, to be fitted with seat belts and that SI No. 76 also prohibits the importation of vehicles that are not fitted with seat belts.

“Therefore, no vehicle without a seatbelt will be allowed to operate as a PSV after the six months grace period had come to an end on 30th June 2017. This law will also require owners of panel vans (commonly known as Hiace buses) to ensure that their vehicles are fitted with seat belts,” he said.

Mr Mubanga said all Public Service Vehicle (PSV) operators are urged to ensure that all buses are fixed with seatbelt by 30th June 2017.

He said seatbelts reduces the severity of and injury or a person dying from an accident by 50 per cent.

“Any person who fails to comply with the Regulation is liable upon conviction in the case of a first offence to a fine not exceeding one thousand penalty units or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three months, or to both,” he said.

21 COMMENTS

  1. Pf are dwanzy. All this time this is when they want to enforce something which should be mandatory for anyone driving and on passenger seats. So its OK they are saying people can continue dying until June.

    • Can you compare the level of driving and safety on roads of Europe to Zambia iwe. Don’t be ignorant..it seems you asylum seekers think you are clever just by moving to Europe..let me tell you that we who are successful in Zambia have even travelled more than you because we just come there for business and shopping while you are busy there living on the dole. If you don’t know what dole means please Google it

  2. Clarification needed: Are these seat belts for every seat on the bus? For example, the minibuses operating on the route city market to avondale? All passengers will be required to have seat belts on?

  3. I can’t wait to see how these little matatus tuma hiace buses will be modified to have 4 people, each individual strapping himself to that ka little seat.

    Maybe ratsa should show us one mini bus that they have modified, we need to see some dummy from ratsa.

    • Yes you right.But Why are we continues putting pressure on our Zambian run business?but the mines continue cutting corners

  4. NI MA SEAT BELT YANYOKO? THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO FIT ALREADY EXISTING BUSES ONLY TO THE DRIVER IS OK THE REST TIZAKAMBILA KUSOGOLOFOR THOSE IMPORTING BUSES

  5. How possible?
    1) the local route buses( hiace) that we have on our roads are not originally meant for passengers but goods. The seats are just wielded and tied with bolts.
    2)where are those belts going to be attached.
    3)God forbid,in an accident scenario passengers will trapped on those seats which always break off and slumped behind the drivers seat.

  6. We have heard RTSA and the Ministry of Transport has issued a lot of Statutory Instruments (SIs) in the last few days; which is good if they are meant to safeguard lives. The only problem is how to access those documents especially for those in rural areas because not everyone would get a copy through Government printer. Up to today nothing have been posted on RATSA and Ministry of Transport websites concerning this SIs. The best way to communicate is to use different kind of media and not just through the spokesperson. Kindly improve.

  7. What do they mean all PSVs? You mean even minibuses? I hope the dont mean minibuses.
    You should be introducing speed limiters on intercity buses..seatbelt in any bus will not save you from a 130km/hr headon collosion with a truck.

  8. They know this is impossible with those welded on seats.

    They are just looking for another way to get bribes. Period.

    Any gimmick or impossible to enforce law where they will be getting bribes is for PF.

  9. RTSA needs foreign consultants to assist; Zambia is a young country surely where did those RTSA Directors get their experience in Public Road transport and safety from….these guys are incompetent and need urgent assistance and are too proud to admit it.

  10. Surely rtsa website is not active. CAN ZINDABA SOKO EXPLAIN WHY THIS IS SO? Its cheaper and more effective to deliver any important information online than through ZNBC which is a campaign and marketing media house for sitting presidents and rulling political parties.

  11. It’s a good start. They should also enforce a limit on how many people can be in minibuses, cause the way the conductors pack people in those buses is bad.

  12. In Europe even the trains have seat belts on the haice the seat belt will be like the one on planes that is fastened across your belly and not shoulder strapped, I take it also the conductor will now be expected to be seated?

  13. The current major concern was the road carnage involving the inter-province buses. RTSA’s interventions should be focused on this category first and then later cascaded to other categories that fall in the same risk profile only when proven to be successful. The main safety concern with the seats in panel van (so called “mini buses”) is the design of the seats. Attaching seat belts to those contraptions will not enhance passenger safety.

Comments are closed.

Read more

Local News

Discover more from Lusaka Times-Zambia's Leading Online News Site - LusakaTimes.com

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading