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Yoliswa Dube
CHECK-IN time was 10PM.
While some were tucking into their snug blankets, travellers at Chinotimba Bus Terminus in Victoria Falls jostled back and forth as they made their way to their preferred bus.

The buses would travel to various destinations overnight.
At 10PM, touts were hard at work, still trying to convince the confused to get onto their buses.

Some said their final goodbyes to their loved ones while others got out a blanket or two to shield themselves from the night chill.

One after the other, buses filled to capacity rattled out of the terminus and into the thick of the night.

“It’s quite a long journey travelling from Victoria Falls to Harare by road. I really can’t do the distance during the day. It gets really hot. I prefer travelling during the night and sleep through the entire journey,” said Mr Sibongumusa Moyo, before he got onto one of the night buses to Harare.

He said during the night, buses made fewer stops which meant he would get to his final destination sooner.

“They’re fewer roadblocks and fewer, if any, people dropping off along the way so that would mean I’d get to my final destination sooner. Day travelling can be such an inconvenience with all the stops and the heat.”

Mr Moyo is employed in Harare but his family lives in Victoria Falls. He therefore has to travel between the two places frequently.

“Of course there’re risks of hitting animals and accidents with other vehicles due to poor visibility but I still prefer night travelling because I can sleep throughout the journey,” he said.

While Mr Moyo and other like-minded fellows prefer travelling at night, the country is still mourning the death of 43 passengers who were killed in a bus accident which occurred at night.

The bus accident, which happened in Hurungwe, Mashonaland West province also injured 30 other people.

The Zambia-bound King Lion bus rammed into a tree in the Nyamakate area Hurungwe, killing 43 people on the spot.

The driver of the bus, who was among those killed in the accident, lost control of the vehicle at the 257km peg near Nyamakate shops around 10PM.

According to survivors of the accident, the driver was speeding.

Last April, 31 people were killed when a South Africa-bound bus was sideswiped by a haulage truck at Nyamatikiti River near Chaka Business Centre in Chirumanzu, Midlands province.

Despite this people still choose to travel at night.

“I love travelling and sometimes I do so at night but it’s not always safe I must admit. I once took a night bus from Bulawayo to Harare because I wanted to be in the capital by 8AM on the following morning but I regretted it when the driver started falling asleep before we even got to Shangani. It was too late for me to drop off so I just had to brave the journey,” said Mr Simeon Ndlovu, an entrepreneur who deals with nuts and bolts.

He said after veering off the road and almost ramming into a tree, the driver of the bus he was on stopped the vehicle to apologise to passengers.

“He actually admitted he was tired. He had travelled from Harare that morning and had not gotten the chance to rest. It was just him and the conductor – no second driver. And guess what, we let that fatigued driver transport us all the way to Harare,” said Mr Ndlovu.

According to experts, fatigue, lack of light, compromised night vision and impaired drivers all contribute to making driving at night more dangerous than during any other time of day. In fact, the risk of a fatal crash is three times greater at night.

“If my boss gives me a work schedule, I can’t say no. Even if I’m tired, I have to do the job because my children have to eat. I understand the dangers of driving while fatigued or driving at night but this is work,” said Mr Bothwell Ngirande, who plies the Victoria Falls – Harare route.

“I’m a worker under instruction and there’s nothing I can do. My boss will want his money after the end of every shift and I need a job. I have a family to take care of. Whatever happens on the road happens, if we arrive safely then praise God, life goes on,” he added, while throwing his hands in the air as he raved the bus he was going to drive to Harare.

Statistics show that 80 percent of road traffic accidents in Zimbabwe are as a result of human error.

An average of 1 700 people are killed on Zimbabwean roads annually while 30 000 others are injured.

Drivers like Mr Ngirande make poor judgments sometimes due to fatigue and the urgency to arrive at their final destination.

“Driving is tiresome and it’s even harder at night. We speed sometimes so that we arrive early and rest before the next trip,” said Mr Ngirande.

Following last week’s accident, Zimbabweans have called on the Government to stop night driving for long distance buses.

Some said Government should consider banning use of public service vehicles at night as part of measures to reduce road traffic accidents.

“In Zambia, no public service vehicle is allowed on the roads at night. We need similar measures here as a means to manage this problem. It’s an area our Government needs to look at. It’s proven that night driving has many disadvantages, especially regarding visibility. Visibility is at a minimum during the night, and this usually results in drivers making a lot of mistakes that can, at times, result in serious accidents,” said national police spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba.

In 2016, Zambia banned driving long distance haulage trucks and public buses at night, from 9PM to 5AM. Violation attracts three months’ imprisonment or a fine of K300 (US$32).

“We have set up 24-hour call centres where members of the public can call in and report instances of speeding on the roads. You can call any of these numbers whenever you notice a speeding vehicle on the roads: (04) 703631 or 748836. We have a mechanism that enables our officers on the ground to stop the offending driver at the next tollgate whenever such a report is received,” said Snr Asst Comm Charamba.

Government is preparing to introduce new road regulations that will see drivers’ licences of serial violators’ revoked.

Meanwhile, law enforcement agents need to intensify educational programmes advising road users to adhere to road rules.

Drivers must avoid speeding; driving at night or when visibility is poor and they must always drive roadworthy vehicles. Passengers too must stop looking at night travel as a viable option.

Training programmes for public service drivers must continue and policing on the roads needs to be toughened.

@Yolisswa