Last year police recorded 23 deaths but, according to police, a combination of factors including speeding, fatigue and overtaking errors, contributed to the rise in this year’s fatalities to almost double.
Police spokesman Superintendent Paul Nyathi told the Herald newspaper that this year the Midlands and Manicaland had the highest number of recorded deaths, at 10 and 9 respectively.
Mashonaland East recorded 7 deaths, Harare 5, Matabeleland South 3, Masvingo and Mashonaland Central provinces recorded 4 deaths each, while Mashonaland West had 2 deaths and Matabeleland North had 1. There were no deaths recorded in Bulawayo.
Nyathi said that there were 351 accidents and 166 injuries this Easter, compared to last year’s figures of 206 accidents and 150 injuries.
Police also impounded 147 defective vehicles and issued 7,450 tickets for traffic offences.
Although human error is largely to blame for road traffic accidents in Zimbabwe, the lack of repair over the years has seen the roads deteriorating into death traps for drivers.
Many of the country’s roads are potholed and narrow, with the dualisation of many major highways abandoned in the last 10 years.
Post published in: News