Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. THERE is a renewed call for stiff penalties for traffic offences after Zimbabwe recorded an increase in road traffic accidents during this year’s Heroes and Defence Forces holidays compared to the same period last year.
A total of 196 accidents were recorded, 13 of them being fatal.
In these accidents, 24 people were killed and 96 were injured.
Last year, the country recorded 149 accidents, eight of them being fatal.
Police national spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi said the cause of the accidents included reckless driving, mechanical faults and speeding.
Passengers Association of Zimbabwe president Tafadzwa Goliati, called for stiff penalties for traffic offences to reduce accidents.
“The penalties are not deterrent enough for drivers not to commit road traffic offences,” he said.
“In other countries, those who violate road rules are jailed, which is not happening in Zimbabwe.”
President Emmerson Mnangagwa recently ordered a crackdown on reckless driving, calling for a unified response from law enforcement agents and the courts.
This followed the Manyame Bridge crash that killed 17 people.
The accident was declared a state of national disaster.
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