A lot of lives has been lost on the roads and it is getting worse by the day. Many Zimbabwean nationals are always on the road up and down, in and out of Zimbabwe trying to make ends meet.
Most people travel to and from South Africa everyday running their businesses. Road transport is the cheapest mode of transport for most people so it has become a busy route.
This has attracted many bus operators and now there is tough competition amongst them. Definitely, they cannot compete with prices as they will run losses. Instead these bus operators are resorting to improving their services.
They may offer some snacks to their customers during their journey, for example. They all want to reduce the travelling time and that means they should speed up. This is one of the reasons why road accidents involving buses are happening so often.
The drivers speed up and they never get enough time to rest. The buses travel for very long distances to and fro without being serviced. This simply puts people at risk of losing their lives or getting injured on roads.
It is very unfortunate that the drivers do not listen even when the passengers complain about the speed. All their minds will be on beating the target. They can even become aggressive and rude if they are asked to reduce speed.
On the other hand, it is the passengers that pressurise the driver to speed up sometimes. We tell them we are behind time and sometimes we compare them to others and that just makes them try to prove a point.
Yes, accidents do happen but the way they happening especially with the buses is alarming. People should not allow anyone to intimidate them when they complain about speed. After all it is you that will get hurt and be sorry for the rest of your life or even lose your life.
Overloading of vehicles is also another problem. I seriously think that there should be separate vehicles meant for ferrying goods only. This means that people will board a bus with luggage that weighs a limited number of kilos.
Anything extra should be on the goods vehicle. Imagine an overloaded bus over speeding. It’s not safe at all. You could actually notice that these days buses are overtaking small cars speed wise A bus only delays you because it has to load more people, its no longer about speed.
Competition between buses on the road is another cause. None of the drivers would like to be overtaken so they speed up all in the name of trying to block each other. By the time they realise there is an on coming vehicle ahead or danger ahead it will be too late to reduce speed or go back to their lane.
If you have a driver at home, please remind him or her to value people’s lives every morning. Tell them to take a break whenever they feel like they need it as they should remain alert on the road.