Reckless drivers

The World Health Organization (WHO) ranks Zambia 11th in the table of countries with the most traffic accidents. Between January and November this year, the country recorded more than 18,000 road accidents. The victims were mostly young people aged between 15 and 24; the total number of deaths exceeded 5,000. Three hundred of those killed were children.

Zambia's government blames the high death toll on reckless driving. Patrick Mwachilenga, a taxi driver in the capital Lusaka, believes the Road Traffic and Safety Agency (RATSA), a government agency entrusted with monitoring adherence to traffic rules, should intensify its patrols. "The problem I have seen with Zambian drivers is that they drink while driving," he told Deutsche Welle. "I have seen RATSA testing the alcohol level of drivers and most of them were impounded, I hope they keep that up, then we won't have many accidents."

More training needed

For driving instructor Humprey Ndulwa, it's important that new drivers receive more training before being let loose on the roads. He argues that the main cause of accidents in Zambia is the fact that many drivers are inexperienced. "Someone buys a car today, learns to drive the next day and then goes driving alone," Nduwa said, adding that RATSA should take further steps to ensure that only the best drivers are allowed on the roads.

The fact that many of the accident victims are young is of great concern to Mwanga Monga, herself an experienced driver and mother of two. "As parents, we should ensure that we don't allow underage and unlicensed children to drive," she said. Monga, who says she has seen a lot of kids and young people getting out of control after drinking alcohol and causing accidents, lays the responsibility solely on the parents.

Government to clamp down

But things may be about to change for the better. Zambia's Works and Supply Minister Yamfwa Mukanga has ordered the country's traffic agency to punish motorists found breaking traffic rules. He pointed out that road carnage is the third killer in Africa after malaria and HIV/AIDS. Muganga also has an idea how Zambia could reach the UN Decade of Action objective of reducing traffic accidents by 50 percent by the year 2020. "It is important that we, as a nation, make vulnerable road users the center of all our road safety campaigns."

The WHO says Africa loses about $100 billion (76 billion euros) annually due to traffic-related accidents. More than 1.3 million lives are lost on African roads, with up to 50 million people suffering injuries.

Author: Kathy Sikombe, Lusaka / cm
Editor: Susan Houlton / rm