Reckless Driving contributing to Traffic Jungle in Zimbabwe

In a bustling street filled with cars in any central business district in Zimbabwe pedestrians rush, and drivers seem disconnected from the consequences of their actions. Among the chaos, Linda, a middle-aged woman walks with her five-year old daughter, Tariro, clinging tightly to her hand.

As Linda navigates through a pedestrian crossing, her heart skips a beat. A speeding vehicle zooms past, missing Tariro by a few centimetres. She feels a surge of anger and fear, then a desperate need to protect her child from the reckless driving. And the drivers go on with their reckless driving, unperturbed.

Welcome to Zimbabwe’s cities and towns. Urban roads have become dangerous to navigate as motorists defy road regulations, killing or maiming people and destroying properties in the process.

As one foreign development worker puts it: “In Harare, don’t be afraid of getting robbed, but beware of motorists!”. Such is the negative plague that has been attached to the high recklessness of driving in this capital city of about two million people.

Reckless driving has become an epidemic on Zimbabwe’s roads, threatening the safety and well-being of its citizens. Daily, countless lives are at risk due to drivers’ irresponsible behaviours behind the wheel. Zimbabwe needs to tighten its traffic enforcement laws and work with stakeholders to tame the traffic jungle together.

Reckless driving is caused by any person who drives a vehicle in a willful or malicious manner, disregarding the safety of people or property. It may include driving under the influence of alcoholic beverages or other substances or drugs, excessive speeding or racing, passing blindly on curves, swerving or cutting in and out of lanes, going around railroad barriers, passing school buses when stop signs are activated, and navigating through a red light or stop sign.

Recently, they was a video circulating on social media, which captured reckless driving involving a cross-border bus operator, Mzansi Express, and a haulage truck carrying highly inflammable gas and other motorists.

The World Health Organization (WHO), of the United Nations says approximately 1.35 million people succumb to road accidents annually worldwide. These accidents not only bring immeasurable human tragedy but also impose a significant economic burden on societies.

According to the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ), there were a total of 51,924 crashes in 2023, resulting in 2,099 deaths and 9,955 injuries. The TSCZ exists in terms of the Traffic Safety Act (Chapter 13: 17) and aims to operate at the highest level of performance in the promotion of road safety to reduce deaths, injury and property damage on Zimbabwe’s roads.

Budiriro high density suburb in Harare residents and other parts of the country, have reported widespread issues with road safety. Bad roads, minors driving vehicles, triple-riding, and overloaded commuter omnibuses, are common sights. Parking problems exacerbate the situation.

Traffic violations, such as vehicles driving in the wrong direction on T junctions, are also prevalent. This was exemplified by a viral video circulating on social media, showing Harare Metropolitan police chasing over an over-loaded commuter omnibus, which posed a serious danger to pedestrians near Joina City, a shopping and office mall in central Harare.

Harare Residents Trust director Precious Shumba accused motorists of disregarding traffic rules as one of the main causes of road accidents in Zimbabwe, particularly in traffic chaos-plagued Harare. Though infrastructure such as roads and pedestrian walkways have improved over the years, motorists and pedestrians continue to ignore basic civic etiquette and violate traffic rules.

“Pedestrian crossings are essential road signs, requiring total respect by both motorists and pedestrians. It is important that the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe continues to educate motorists and pedestrians on the importance of pedestrian crossings for the control of both traffic and people’s movements,’’ said Shumba.

Even worse, Shumba continued: “In Zimbabwe, most motorists disrespect pedestrian crossings, and they are impatient to give people time to cross roads. This behaviour is also observed on defying traffic lights.” Shumba said on busy roads such as Jason Moyo Avenue in Harare’s Central Business District, both pedestrians and motorists should appreciate that respecting the crossing is a shared responsibility.

Desiree Vimbai Zhuwakinyu, Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe officer believed mandatory defensive driving would reduce accidents since previous steps had failed.

“The Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe believes defensive driving courses should be mandatory as it educates drivers on safe driving and deals with behaviour change. Research shows that the majority of road traffic accidents in the country are caused by human error.

Zhuwakinyu also stressed that her organisation monitors and regulates driving schools in Zimbabwe but is not a driving licensing authority.

‘’It is important to note the TSCZ does not license drivers, this is a function of the Vehicle Inspection Department in the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development.,” she said.

Zhuwakinyu said the key mandate of the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe is to promote road safety through safety education, training, publicity and research in co-operation with other stakeholders.

“All these are measures to raise awareness among road users on road safety but also to reduce road carnage. We believe that road safety is everyone’s business and implore the public to take heed of our messages. We believe that we will achieve the goal, one road user at a time,” she added.

To reduce the number of accidents, the police should immediately be vigilant on those breaking the law.

Unless the police and government take concrete measures to avoid road accidents, the numbers will continue to rise, and more lives lost.