The Road Transport and Safety Agency is concerned about the increasing number of unlicensed bus drivers and their failure to pay road tax for buses. Thirty unlicensed drivers were arrested yesterday during an inspection.

And the agency intends to instal 150 speed cameras in all parts of the country in the next one year. Speaking after conducting road inspections in Matero and Kanyama townships yesterday, RTSA chief executive officer Zindaba Soko said the number of unlicensed drivers on public roads is a time-bomb waiting to explode. “At the rate at which people are dying in road traffic accidents, there will be no population in Zambia in the next few years. Just in a period of two hours, we have impounded 30 unlicensed drivers,” he said.

Mr Soko said the bad behaviour of some bus drivers has greatly contributed to loss of lives on public roads. He said RTSA will not condone bad behaviour by drivers because Government is losing a lot of money in medical bills and funeral expenses for accident victims. He urged the public to report unruly drivers to RTSA. Meanwhile, RTSA intends to instal 150 speed cameras in all parts of the country to promote sanity on the road. Mr Soko said the agency has so far installed 23 speed cameras on some selected roads in Lusaka. “We have realised that Information Communication Technologies (ICT) is the answer to road compliance. We intend to instal 150 cameras added to 100 fixed cameras on the mobile policing vehicles,” he said.

Mr Soko said the cameras are not only meant to monitor speed but also as electronic checkpoints meant to check vehicle fitness and all other forms of road safety regulations,” he said. And Mr Soko says the Ministry of Education should include First Aid Training as a subject to ensure the whole country is equipped for emergencies. He said while road accidents cannot be ended, more effort should be made to reduce mishaps and significantly minimise injuries that may lead to deaths.

Mr Soko was speaking during the commemoration of the International World First Aid Day under the theme, First Aid and Road Safety with Action. Mr Soko said globally, around 3,500 people are killed on the road every day. He said timely application of first aid techniques during an accident in particular to proper positioning of the victim prior to arrival of the emergency response teams can make the difference between life and death.
He said this will ensure the whole country is sustainably equipped for occurrences and sustained passage of knowledge to future generations and save that precious life.

He said RTSA would like to boost the call by the Zambia Red Cross Society (ZRCS) for schools of driving to involve or collaborate with the society to provide first aid training to would-be drivers as this is a life-saving skill that no one would regret knowing about.

Mr Soko commended the Ministry of Labour for having the factories Act, which requires basic training in first aid, and urged them to enforce it to make all work environments safer. And speaking at the same event, ZRCS president William Chisoko appealed to people of all ages to learn first aid and first response techniques so that they have the skills and confidence to attend to emergency situations.