Tinashe Mlambo
Post Reporter
IN an effort to encourage safe driving and curb road carnage, Government through the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ) last Saturday honoured the best drivers from kombi, bus and truck transport sectors.
The competition was aimed at reducing the number of road fatalities and injuries involving trucks, kombis, and buses through simulating education among the public, drivers and at the same time improve the standard of public and heavy motor vehicle driving in the country.
It was also meant to incentivise businesses to invest in advanced training of heavy-duty vehicle drivers, who contribute to the saving of lives, in line with the National Development Strategy (NDS1).
TSCZ director, Mr Munesu Munodawafa said the competition is, not only held in Zimbabwe, but has a long history across the world since the 1960s when the awards were presented to drivers competing in motorsport.
The initiative comes against the background of the involvement of kombi, bus and haulage trucks drivers’ in most accidents on the country’s roads.
“The programme provides us with an opportunity of proffering solutions to road safety challenges which have become an issue of concern to most people in the country.
“This year’s competition involves rigid lorry, articulated truck and bus drivers. In our quest to attend to the current reality on our roads, we added another category to the competition, which is the kombi category.
“This has been long overdue as we have seen an increase on the number of kombis that were involved in the road crashes over the past years. The idea behind adding this category to the competition has been necessitated by the fact that most kombi drivers show signs of negligence and recklessness on the road, which has most often than not caused fatal road crashes resulting in a lot of people losing their lives.
“As the institution responsible for promoting road safety, we have taken it to mean that there is need to encourage good driving habits, therefore restoring normalcy in that area. It is from this background that I urge all kombi drivers to participate in this competition. I also urge kombi owners and operators to allow their drivers to participate in this competition,” he said.
Mr Munodawafa said the initiative is part of the broader strategy to reduce road carnage in the country, adding that road safety is one of the key indicators towards the achievement of National Development Strategy.
“TSCZ hold these competitions as a means for standardising and improving driving. This year, we aim to continue carrying the tradition forward in rewarding good driving skills and encouraging good driving practise,” he said.
Mr Munodawafa also said the competition is a way of enhancing the already existing defensive driver improvement programme, commonly known as Defensive Driving Course (DDC).
“I take this time to directly speak to kombi drivers, there is need for you to do away with the perception that you are not good drivers and show the world that you can be good drivers who are sensitive to road safety.
“You really need to improve your conduct on the road. To us, your participation reflects willingness to improve your driving skills as we believe you will be nurtured and equipped with the necessary driving expertise, and we are confident that through this programme you will make a positive impact towards improving road safety outcomes in Manicaland and Zimbabwe as a whole,” he said.
