Lusaka, Zambia – 24th March
2015. The Zambian Road Safety Trust (ZRST )
welcomes the Road Transport Safety
Agency ‘s (RTSA) Bill which will
restrict passenger-carrying vehicles (PCV) to
transport passengers
during dark hours.
The Trust is of the view that
limiting PCV drivers transporting
passengers at night will help ensure our
roads are safe for people to
use and reduce the many deaths and injuries which
happen on the roads
each year.
The Trust has noted that a disproportionate
number of fatal injuries
occur after dark despite fewer traffic on the roads.
The most obvious
danger of night driving is decreased visibility. The distance
a driver
can see is shortened and so hazards can often seem to appear out of
nowhere. The danger of falling asleep at the wheel is also a significant
factor at night.
The Chairman of Zambian Road Safety Trust, Mr. Daniel
Mwamba said:
“In most countries were crashes have decreased significantly,
there are
laws that limit and restrict operational hours for PCV drivers. I
believe that it has been long overdue for this law to be enacted in
Zambia
that will guarantee that most innocent lives are saved.
“I believe that time
of day plays an important role in evaluating fatal
crashes, in no small part
because other dangerous factors are compounded
at night. The instances of
drunk driving, speeding and driving without a
safety belt all significantly
increase during the night hours and each
contributes directly to increased
fatality rates.
“I congratulate RTSA for taking this tough initiative
particularly when
many innocent lives are lost unnecessary. I also urge our
MPs to pass
this important law quickly”.
Mr. Mwamba further said:
“Road
Traffic crashes kill more than 2,000 people in the Zambia each
year; they are
the number 3 cause of death behind HIV/AIDS and Malaria.
Driving is the
riskiest thing most people do every day, but since fatal
crashes happen in
“ones and twos” scattered across Zambia, people do not
realize their
collective toll– an average of 170 people perish monthly,
nationally”.