Passengers also to blame for road carnage, says Mhona after kombi kills 28 Mwazha Church congregants
It has emerged that the kombi involved in the crash that killed 28 members of the Mwazha Church in Chivhu, Mashonaland East, late last month was not meant to carry people.
The vehicle, which was involved in a head-on collision with a haulage truck, was a private vehicle and had no seats.
Responding to questions in the Senate this week, Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Felix Mhona said members of the public should not board unlicensed and overloaded vehicles.
He said passengers also have a responsibility to help curb the rising carnage on the roads.
Mhona added that most fatal accidents now happen on good roads, where drivers tend to speed, and overloading makes the crashes even deadlier.
“Where people are supposed to be four or five, they should question why they tend to be overloaded to become eleven or more,” he said.
“It is not about the drivers alone, but even the passengers endanger their lives by embarking on vehicles that may be risky.”
Mhona said the Chivhu to Mvuma stretch of the Harare-Masvingo Highway has become an accident hotspot.
“The sad thing is, most of those accidents are taking place on good roads. We used to say maybe it is because of bad roads, but people tend to speed where there are good stretches of roads,” Mhona said.
“Sometimes you wonder how such an accident took place. The place will be very clear: a wide road, a good road, and you wonder what spirit was at play.
“Sometimes people may fall asleep and end up encroaching on oncoming traffic. Some of those accidents, to my surprise, take place during the day, although some occur at night.
“Through the Traffic Safety Council, we urge people to travel during the day because at night it is not safe. However, most people prefer to travel at night to avoid the police.”
Mhona said the Department of Roads is looking at accident black spots to see where rumble strips can be installed.
He warned, however, that they cannot put humps on highways as this would inconvenience travellers.
He also said the Road Accident Fund Bill, which is meant to compensate victims of road accidents, is yet to be brought before Parliament.
