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Chief Supt Nyathi

l 16 people killed on roads in 106 accidents

l Fatalities up 300 percent on last year’s toll

Crime Reporter

SIXTEEN people were killed while 45 others were injured in 106 road traffic accidents that occurred on Christmas Day compared to only four deaths last year, representing a 300 percent increase in the number of fatalities.Although police could not readily release the total number of deaths from December 15 when the festive period officially started, the 16 deaths in one day this year compared to four last year were disturbing given that many motorists failed to travel due to liquidity constraints.

Indications so far are that speeding and overtaking errors were to blame for most of the accidents. According to statistics released by the police yesterday, 106 accidents were recorded on Christmas Day this year alone compared to 81 recorded in 2015.

Statistics for yesterday’s road accidents were not available. Police national spokesperson Chief Superintendent Paul Nyathi said there were no major fatal road accidents on the country’s highways on December 25 although the death toll still remained a cause for concern.

“Most of the accidents recorded involved private vehicles. Most of these fatal road accidents involved pedestrians who were hit while trying to cross the roads and there were no major fatal road accidents that were recorded along the highways,” he said.

Chief Supt Nyathi appealed to drivers to be cautious on the roads and to respect other road users and obey traffic laws. He said most roads were in a bad state because of the rains and called for more alertness when driving.

He said the police, in conjunction with the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe would continue to carry out campaigns to ensure safety on the roads. The number of motorists arrested for committing various traffic-related offences on Christmas Day dropped to 6 855 compared to 7 017 last year.

Chief Supt Nyathi said they impounded 90 unroadworthy vehicles that had serious defects compared to 69 last year. According to the 2014 Annual Zimbabwe Republic Police Traffic Report, an average of five people died daily in road traffic accidents between 2009 and 2014, while two were injured every hour.

Chief police spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba said it was important to observe road traffic laws and warned violators that they would be arrested.

She said speeding and overloading were offences punishable at law. Drivers have also been discouraged from crossing flooded rivers and bridges. Early last month, police expressed concern at the surge in fatal road accidents caused by tyre bursts.

They said 6 percent of fatal accidents that occurred in August were due to tyre bursts and this was blamed on the use of second-hand tyres. High temperatures, overloading and speeding were cited among the main reasons for tyre bursts. Other causes included incorrect tyre pressure.

Under-inflation, tyre size and potholes have also contributed to tyre bursts. In August, the police and the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe carried out research on accidents involving tyre bursts following a series of fatal road accidents.

Indications were that the research results could lead to legislation compelling motorists who import second-hand vehicles from Asia and Europe to change tyres before driving them on Zimbabwe’s roads.