Govt mulls speed limiters for buses

Mutare (New Ziana) -President Emmerson Mnangagwa has directed the
Government to explore ways of reducing carnage on the country’s roads,
including introducing speed limiters on buses, a cabinet Minister has
said.

Transport and Infrastructure Development Minister Felix Mhona said this
during a visit to Victoria Chitepo Provincial Hospital (formerly Mutare
Provincial Hospital) on Thursday where survivors of the Chimanimani bus
disaster are being treated.

At least 38 people perished when a St Charles Luwanga bus carrying Zion
Christina Church (ZCC) members from Tilbury Estates in Chimanimani
plunged into a gorge along the Chimanimani-Chipinge road two weeks ago.

Thirty six died on the spot, one on the way to and another one later at
Victoria Chitepo Provincial Hospital, while twenty six were critically
injured.

President Mnangagwa declared the accident a state of disaster.

Mhona said following the horrific accident, President Mnangagwa had
directed his Ministry to go back to the drawing board and fine-tune road
rules, especially those governing public transport, in a bid to curb
road accidents, which continue to claim many lives.

“The President spoke of imposing speed limiters on buses. We discovered
that some buses are now travelling at over 160 km per hour, like small
vehicles, forgetting they are carrying human lives,” said Mhona.

“But, going forward, we want to put new measures to ensure bus drivers
don’t exceed speed limits put in place by the Government.”

Mhona said studies had shown that most road traffic accidents were a
result of human error such as speeding, drunken driving and overloading.

“What I just saw is a reflection that we still have a lot to do in our
roads. We discovered that some accidents are being caused by drivers who
are not experienced but they get over excited when they are behind
wheels which leads to loss of lives,” he said.

He said his Ministry would engage other relevant stakeholders such as
the police to fine tune road rules and put measures that would help curb
carnage.

“I was touched by what I saw in the hospital wards. The gift of life
from God is very precious and we should safeguard and value it.

“Some of the patients are mothers who lost their husbands, kids, while
some are fathers who lost their wives. We don’t know what the future
holds for these families because some have lost their breadwinners.

“I would like to emphasize on the love shown by our President, His
Excellency Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa, who assigned me to visit those in
hospital to comfort and give them hope and see how they can they can be
assisted regarding medicines.

New Ziana