Government is saddened by the high number of road traffic accidents in the country.
Chief Government Spokesperson Kennedy Sakeni says government notes with grave concern the continued high number of road traffic accidents occurring in the country.
Mr Sakeni who is also Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services, said according to Police Report, 1,000 lives were lost due to traffic accidents between 1st January and 28th December, 2012,
In a press statement released to ZANIS in Lusaka today Mr Sakeni said Zambia has an average of three deaths as a result of traffic accidents on a daily basis, the statistic which he described highly unfortunate and unbearable.
“Government notes with grave concern the continued high number of road traffic accidents in the country. Can you imagine that 1,000 people died this year from January to December? This is an average of three deaths per day, a statistic which is highly unfortunate and unbearable,” Mr Sakeni lamented.
He said government reiterates its call to road traffic authorities to intensify road patrols and sensitize the public on importance of road safety especially during the festive season which is widely celebrated by people annually.
Mr Sakeni said the festive season should be a time of joy and happiness and not sadness and sorrow.
He called on motorists and the public at large to observe traffic rules and regulations at all times so that they do not endanger their lives and those of other people.
“Motorists and the public at large are called upon to observe traffic rules and regulations at all times so that they do not endanger their lives and those of other people. The festive season should be a time of joy and happiness and not sadness and sorrow,” he said.
About 12 people died country-wide from 111 accidents, which occurred during the Christmas holiday in Zambia.
Zambia Police Service Spokesperson Elizabeth Kanjela confirmed in a statement to ZANIS last week.
And Ms Kanjela said police recorded a total number of 64 assault cases of which 56 are coming from Lusaka province while Southern, Luapula, Muchinga and Northern provinces recorded no incidents.
She said this year’s Christmas holiday recorded an increase in the number of road traffic accidents as compared to 2011, which recorded 96 accidents and 10 murder cases.
Prior to Christmas holiday, President Michael Sata encouraged Zambians to use the Christmas festival to promote reconciliation and love.
Mr Sata has urged Zambians to use the festive period to show love, compassion and care to one another and families to get-together.
Zambians from all walks of life tomorrow celebrates New Year, 2013.
ZANIS
Two many bad cars on too few road with inexperienced drivers
Most drivers can not comprehed even simple road sigh like “NO ENTRY” One wonders how they accorded such with Driver license. corruption corruption………..
Ok, I meant too many cars!
Its a new year, am celebrating with a glass of something ala!
what do you expect with these marabo cars.
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The police is to blame cause they only concentrate on buses for their benefit.
You can say that again, spot on!
These accidents are as a result of corruption at RTSA when issueing drivers licenses very few genuinely pass driving tests without paying RTSA officers a bribe we have alot of incompetent licenced drivers on our roads with a larger number of unlicensed drivers The cause of all these accidents is as a result of corrupt RTSA and ZP traffic officers who issue licences to people at a fee and allow incompetent and unlicensed drivers to pay their way on our roads thus putting innocent lives at risk take a look at the age of our bus drivers and how they aquire PSV licenses
Worse still there is lack of road signs on our roads and those that one can claim are there are hardly visible. The law is weak with nobody to enforce it (forget the police) and drink driving is the order of the day. God knows who decides the road worthiness of the cars on our roads. Like the car guru said, how many know what the Highway Code is? The minister should not just give us the stats but he should tell us what he is doing to improve the situation. We need solutions.
So the police force & rtsa don’t see the need for increased patrols and street lights?any a time in the night you will find a truck parked literally in the middle of the road with no hazard lights or triangles in a dark street/road. Ridiculous!
I agree with car guru- we have huge numbers of incompetent drivers on the roads. It’s sickening!
Sakeni instead of spending so much time and money pursuing Nevers and HH, you might as well exert your money and energies in pursuing who is behind all this road carnage sacrifices. A starting point is seeking God’s divine intervention. Secondly, stop the Hypocrisy where on the one hand your Govt pretends to be God fearing yet on the other hand you are not following God’s TEN COMMANDMENTS as you swore with what looked like GOD’s Bible in hand. In this new year, change and go back to GOD for the sake of our beloved country. Bring all those HYPOCRITES like Frank Bwalya, Mpundu, Matale, Mutale into the public glare so they can confess and apologies to the Zambian people. After all your Presido says we should encourage Love and Reconciliation. Sata did it with Levy. What has changed since?
Know the reasons behind this carnage and then act on it. Out of all these accidents whats the main cause, how sure can you be that patrols will reduce the number of accidents. Each and every accident should be investigated thoroughly to ascertain whether there’s need to make changes to the current laws, changes to the way roads are managed, changes to how roads are made perhaps. When GOV releases these press statements they should be comprehensive enough so that people are better informed. 12 people died over the Christmas period, ok! so what. More detailed info please, especially the findings after road traffic police investigations.
The cause is all the people involved:-Drivers, Ratsa, ZP and RDA even councils including Zambia Bureau of Standards(Fake parts on the market). it is important that proper investigations as to the root cause are in place for each case and then stats prepared and zero into the most impacting cause of these accidents. Others will be too minor to Focus on until the major contributors are eliminated.
Happy Nu yr to all bloggers on LT.
Governmet?s regrets of too many deaths from RATs and not doing anything to prevent and correct the causative factors does not help matters.
Some of the factors causing accidents among many are:
1. Poor state of roads in the country. Repair all roads. If there is always money for by-elections, there surly must be money to save lives
2. Lack of signs and where they are available, are either damaged or not conspicuous enough
3. Too many unqualified drivers with no knowledge and understanding of the highway code
4. Too many trucks most of them foreign on our pre-independence road network
5. Lots of unworthy smoking vehicles traversing our pre-independence roads, claiming they have the right to be on the road because they also pay carbon tax
6. RTSA (or is it RATS), urgently clean it up
Hipocrisy- how do you shout love at the same time you arrest Nevers Mumba twice not once.Who does Sata think he is duping, certainly not me
Too many half baked drivers on the road.
Bad roads
Driving tests are too damn easy!
Bad driving habits are praised as “ideal driving, or not driving like someone’s grandmother”,…..
We drink and drive with the police. In Zambia you can drive drunk because it is legal. Police only ask for triangles and money. Our police officers are not educated because some of them are grade sevens and nines. They got selected using the back door. Some of them can’t even right. What the phack is going in my country. Bring back my phacking country you mother phakers.
you meant write!! r u police???
And can somebody shoot ba fi kala ama Tanzanian drivers. they are responsible for half of those deaths
Get the foreign trucks off our roads and impose that goods to DRC shoul all be on rail. That way prof Chirwa’s and Aka’s jobs will be made easier.
Causes of RTA : Narrow roads and chimutengo drivers’ licence. Next plse!!!!!!!!!
most of these accidents are caused by drivers who drink while driving; this is somthething that has become normal in zambia almost every one who drinks drives while he or she has taken some alcohol…pliz zedians dont drink and drive
Our local councils and roads departmentt should work with traffic police and RATSA so they can know accident prone areas and put up appropriate signs, humps and other safety measures. This work needs seriousness.
A case in point is in Chipata town. We have written to the council, RATSA and police that the road just outside Crystal springs hotel is very dangerous and has witnessed a lot of serious accidents becouse of its altitude just after a curve. Motorists, especially taxis serving the Malawi border route cruise like no mans business then we have traffic turning in and out of the hotel and the school opposite. We also have school children around but who cares. Maybe we should write to the President.
I have comeup with idea which can reduce road accident but don’t have material.My phone 0964081913 in chingola.