By Prince Njagu
Cumulative road accidents statistics from Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) for 2014 indicate a boom in road accident death from an astounding figure of 822 to 1 012 and 26 people dying on the spot in a single road accident.
The continued increase in road accidents in the country has become a worrying issue and responsible authorities should take firm action in addressing the issue.
The much anticipated year has resumed on a gloomy-note as 26 people died on the spot and 46 others being seriously injured in a Zupco and Unifreight bus side-swiping.
This has raised alarm on the state of the Zimbabwe road infrastructure.
Road network systems are supposed to be rehabilitated every ten years but since the road networks were constructed during the colonial era not much maintenance work has been done.
A lot has been said about road safety in the country but all these efforts will be in vain if drivers are so reluctant to adhere to traffic regulations and when government does not address the issue of poor road infrastructure in the country.
During the festive season a reported total close to 90 deaths occurred in 2014 alone which is a surge from the previous 75 deaths which occurred during this same period the previous year.
Figures given during the festive season show that foreign registered vehicles were involved in most traffic accidents. Trends show that accidents increase during the festive season and this could be because of increased volumes of traffic on roads that are becoming smaller and narrower by the day.
There were many head-on collision accidents recorded over the years and this points towards congested roads. Frustration of traffic pile ups causes drivers to make hasty decisions that lead to some of these accidents.
The issue of congestion on the narrow roads is worsened by the fact that on most highways police mount road blocks after every 30 km or less, disrupting the smooth flow of traffic.
But police attribute road accidents to speeding, reckless driving, failure to adhere to traffic safety rules and in some cases unlicensed personnel getting behind the wheel.
But what percentage has this contributed towards the every booming road death figures?
The rainy season has seen the emergence of potholes whilst town councils are doing very little to combat this problem; with some town authorities using gravel to fill potholes which is immediately washed away when the rain pours.
Drivers now resort to sharing road-lanes whilst facing on-coming traffic as they will be avoiding potholes; this is a hazardous practice for both pedestrians and motorists.
The cause of accident in the recent Zupco/Unifreight accident along the Harare-Nyamapanda highway was cited as side-swiping. This obviously points to narrow roads which should have been dualised a long time ago.
Even if drivers were to adhere to imposed speed limits; the current state of our road network systems would still be an issue of concern
Poorly maintained roads become an even bigger test for the driver operating the vehicle.
Zimbabwe National Road Administration (ZINARA) is collecting tollgate fees on a daily basis although the state of roads especially urban roads has not been improving.
ZINARA has failed to complete a 20km upgrade of the Harare International Airport road which has been under construction for the past six years.
The US$60 million dualisation project of the Harare International Airport road has been in place since 2008 and ZINARA failed to meet the December 2014 deadline which they set for themselves.
As was indicated in July 2012: by the then Finance Minister Tendai Biti that Zimbabwe has a road network of 88 000km and only 15% of that is paved, with that 15% collapsing and so being a hazard to motorists.
Joint efforts are necessary if ever we are to combat the issue of road accidents in the country as the blame game will not yield any results.
