Thursday, March 28, 2024

Increase in number of road accidents during this Christmas period disappointing-ZRST

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The driver of this vehicle escaped unhurt after the Toyota Landcruiser he was driving  fell into the drainage due to over speeding  along Lusaka road in Livingstone.Picture by KELVIN MUDENDA
The driver of this vehicle escaped unhurt after the Toyota Landcruiser he was driving fell into the drainage due to over speeding along Lusaka road in Livingstone.Picture by KELVIN MUDENDA

The Zambia Road Safety Trust (ZRST) is disappointed at the increased number of road crashes related deaths during this Christmas period compared to 2016 despite the annual Christmas drink driving crackdown.

Figures released yesterday (Tuesday) by the Zambia Police show that from 22nd December, 2017 at 18 00 hours to 26th December, 2017 at 06 00 hours, the country recorded 234 Road Traffic accidents out of which 18 were fatal Road Traffic accidents in which 22 people died, 32 were serious Road Traffic Accidents in which 52 people were seriously injured.

Compared to the same period last year- 2016 from 23rd December, 2016 at 18 00 hours to 27th December, 2016 at 06 00 hours, the country recorded 201 accidents out of which 15 were fatal Road Traffic accidents in which 20 people died, 12 were serious Road Traffic Accidents in which 34 people were seriously injured.

Mailos Mwale, ZRST’s senior communications advisor, said:

“Regrettably, it has once again been proven beyond any reasonable doubt that road safety is not a light switch that can be turned on an off. We have said it before many times, and we will continue saying it, not enough is being done to stop the carnage on our roads. Year-in and year-out we are being given statistics that either stay marginally similar to the previous years’ figures, or, sadly, are increasing. And, while much is being said about how accidents have reduced by 20 percent this year compared to 2016, it appears these efforts are at best slow to materialise, at worst ineffective.

“Too often the police officers are targeting motorists for expired licence discs, which, quite frankly, is never going to lead to a reduction of road deaths. These officers need to be deployed on the roads, monitoring moving violations, such as reckless and negligent driving. The issue of corruption among police traffic officers need to be quickly addressed, and it needs to start now.

“One of the first steps needed now is for the Ministry of Transport, the RTSA, the Police and all stakeholders involved in road safety, including the ZRST, to begin looking at how this situation can be turned around. Unless proper implementable plans are formulated, and put in motion now, we fear a repeat of these, and last year’s numbers is inevitable.”

The driver of this vehicle escaped unhurt after the Toyota Landcruiser he was driving  fell into the drainage due to over speeding  along Lusaka road in Livingstone.Picture by KELVIN MUDENDA
The driver of this vehicle escaped unhurt after the Toyota Landcruiser he was driving fell into the drainage due to over speeding along Lusaka road in Livingstone.Picture by KELVIN MUDENDA

3 COMMENTS

  1. This article is shallow. It reminds me of the time i was sitting for my ACCA P5 Performance Management exam. How do you just jump into conclusions like that without having statistics of how many more vehicles are on the road? This sort of comparison is shallow and discouraging because truth is we have no metrics.

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