Staff Reporter
In a proactive move to address the rising concern of road accidents, the Government has decided to embark on a collaborative initiative with local bus manufacturers to install speed limiters on all coaches to reduce road accidents.
In a statement yesterday, the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Development, Felix Mhona said the Government's decision to partner with local manufacturers to install speed limit devices proved to be a visionary and effective strategy to enhance road safety and reduce the alarming number of accidents in the country.
The Minister added that according to Statutory Instrument 118 of 2023, all public service vehicles have to be fitted with a speed-limiting device so that such vehicles will not exceed 100 kilometres per hour.
“Recognizing the importance of involving local manufacturers, the Government engaged in a series of consultations to discuss the technical aspects and potential benefits of implementing speed limit devices,” said Minister Mhona.
Zhongtong Buses Zimbabwe representative, Colin Luhaitang highlighted that to reduce accidents, drivers should concentrate and avoid driving while tired. He added that in Zimbabwe, there were some bus companies that had purchased buses that had speed limiters, and these include operators such as Timboon, Mandaza, Mukumba Brothers, and Silver Stone among others.
“The nation cannot afford to continue experiencing these incessant road fatalities caused by recklessness and negligence. Installation of speed limiters is the way to go,” said Luhaitang.
Meanwhile, the installation of speed limiters on buses is a welcome development as most bus accidents that occurred in the country were attributed to over speeding. Recently, an over speeding Blue Horizon bus that was travelling from Harare to Mutare was involved in an accident that killed five people.
Due to over speeding and human errors on the roads, at least 87 people died and over 220 were injured in 1 194 road accidents that occurred between December 15 and 26, 2023.
The reduction of road accidents is in line with targets contained in National Development Strategy 1 (2021-2025), which seeks to reduce road accidents and fatalities by a 25 percent margin per year.
