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Five people including the driver of this Nissan Sunny (left) and four passengers in the Honda Fit died on the spot when the driver of the Honda Fit lost control and encroached onto the lane of oncoming traffic resulting in a head-on collision in Shangani in this file picture

Yoliswa Dube Features Reporter
THE Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe says most road accidents are as a result of human error. According to statistics, 93,4 percent of all accidents recorded during the 2014/2015 festive season were as a result of human error.

“Human error manifests in various ways involving all human traffic: push cart operators, rank marshals, vendors, passengers, pedestrians, cyclists, animal herders and drovers, horse riders and drivers,” said traffic safety officer Tatenda Chinoda in a statement.

Chinoda said driver errors are generally the major cause of road traffic accidents.

According to the Zimbabwe Republic Police 2014 annual traffic report, a total of 37,619 road traffic accidents were recorded from January 2013 to December 2013 compared to 41,016 recorded from January 2014 to December 2014 reflecting a nine percent increase in the number of road traffic accidents in the country.

The report shows that a total of 1,787 people were killed from the fatal road traffic accidents recorded from January 2013 to December 2013 compared to 1,692 people killed from January 2014 to December 2014.

From the year 2009 to 2014, an average of 1,824 people died each year due to road traffic injuries. This means that about five people die on our roads every day while 38 others are injured.

“Road traffic injuries take an enormous toll on individuals and communities as well as on national economies. Road traffic injuries and deaths have an immeasurable impact on the families affected, whose lives are often changed irrevocably by these tragedies, and in the communities in which these people lived and worked,” said Chinoda.

Economically disadvantaged families, he said, are hardest hit by both direct medical costs and indirect costs such as lost wages that result from these injuries.

At national level, road traffic injuries result in considerable financial costs, particularly to developing economies like that of Zimbabwe, he added.

“It should be underscored that road traffic injuries are largely preventable. Accidents are caused by a number of factors including speeding, misjudgment or inattention, overtaking error, failure to give way, following too close, reversing error, obstruction on the road way, tyre bursts, negligent pedestrians or cyclists, animals and fatigue,” said Chinoda.

Speeding, misjudgment, overtaking error, failure to give way, following too close, reversing error, negligent pedestrians or cyclists and fatigue are human mistakes.

“Therefore, by percentage, human error — which is quite preventable — contributed 93,4 percent to the cause of last year’s festive season road traffic accidents. Only 6,6 percent of accidents were caused by animals, vehicle defects and adverse road conditions. But, drivers must always stay alert for stray animals on the road. Also, night driving is far more dangerous than day-time driving,” said Chinoda.

Statistics also show that 59 of the 2,215 road traffic collisions that occurred during the festive season involved passenger public service vehicles, representing a three percent contribution.

A total of 32 people lost their lives from 20 fatal road traffic accidents involving public service vehicles out of the 144 people killed from 112 fatal road traffic accidents.

Of the 1,133 people injured during the festive season, 339 were injured in accidents involving public service vehicles.

“The causes and risk factors associated with road traffic accidents include non-use of safety belts and child restraints, driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs and emotions, non-use of helmets, inappropriate and excessive speed, night driving, sheer disregard of road traffic rules and regulations, tyre bursts, negligence, fatigue, lack of safe infrastructure, use of mobile phones, stray animals and negligent pedestrians,” said Chinoda.