The country’s roads have become synonymous with danger, as the occurrence of road traffic accidents continue to rise, leaving a trail of devastation, injury, and bereavement.
With almost every month marked by headline-grabbing tragedy, citizens are left wondering as to how many more lives must be lost before the crisis is addressed?
From the busy urban intersections in the capital to the highways connecting towns and rural areas, the country’s road safety situation is rapidly deteriorating. The numbers tell a grim story.
According to the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ) annual road crash statistics over 2,000 people died in road accidents in 2023 alone, while 9955 sustained injuries, permanently altering the lives of victims and their families.
Consider the latest accident involving a commuter minibus and a fuel tanker and claimed the lives of six people along the Harare-Bulawayo Road at Kuwadzana 7 turn off.
Eyewitnesses described a horrific scene, with bodies strewn across the road and passersby struggling to cope. Similar incidents have occurred in the same month of October where sixteen people lost their lives in two separate accidents in Wedza and along the Harare-Shamva Road.
In an interview with 263chat, TSCZ media and corporate communications officer Lucy Kuwandira attributed human error as the root cause to most accidents.
“According to a UN report of 2019, human error has been attributed to be the major cause of road crushes in our country and this human error manifest itself through speeding, drinking and driving, overloading and through all sorts of ills that we see people doing on our roads. Those have been the major challenges that we face, including overtaking. We noticed that most people do not know how to overtake or to do the proper overtaking drill and this has also caused the road crushes in our country,” said Kuwandira
She said road urged road users to adhere to the traffic laws and understand that a road is a shared space.
“It is advisable that as a motorist when you are driving, bear in mind that there are rules of the road which needs to be adhered to and as such you need to be cognizant of the other road users that are going to be using the road the same way as you are,” she said
Behind the gloomy statistics there is a name and family that has forever changed because of the tragedy. The anguish for families who lose their loved ones in accidents is unconceivable.
Survivors often face long-term injuries and disabilities and medical care can be crippling mainly for the poor.
“Two years ago, I lost my husband in an accident along Harare-Masvingo Road. It is difficult to explain the emptiness that comes when your loved one is taken from you in such a manner. My plea to the authorities is to take decisive action against errant drivers,” said Matilda Chiwawa a Harare widow raising three children on her own.
Experts believe that addressing the road accident crisis requires a multi-faceted approach and called for strengthening of laws.
“There is need to strengthening of laws especially on the part of drivers and offenders must be brought to book and be charged accordingly. There is also need for use of technology such as dashcams and speed cameras and this will provide accountability for reckless drivers,” said Engineer Cosmas Mashanda
Speaking in the wake of the Kuwadzana 7 accident, national police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi urged drivers to be safety conscious.
“We want all drivers whether one is driving a public service or a private vehicle people should be safety conscious. There is no need to be in a hurry, arrogant and to get over excited people should just be law abiding citizens, that way we can contribute to the safety of travelers on the country’s road.
“We call upon transport operators to rein in on their drivers because the behaviour being shown by their drivers is deplorable to say the least. The drivers must have the correct mindset, culture and attitude when driving on the country’s roads. The people are driving needs self-introspection so that we avoid these accidents,” said Commissioner Nyathi
The country cannot afford to lose lives to avoidable road accidents. Each time a vehicle crashes lives are lost, families are torn apart and many are left with permanent injuries and disabilities.
Addressing the root causes of these accidents from driver behaviour to enforcement must become a priority for the government and transport operators.
It is time for the country to declare that even one more life lost on the road is one too many.
