Lungwagwa urges road safety education in school curricula

Lungwagwa urges road safety education in school curricula
By Namatama Mundia
Sun 24 Jan. 2010, 04:01 CAT

COMMUNICATIONS and transport minister Professor Geoffrey Lungwangwa has urged education institutions to actively consider incorporating road safety education in their formal and non-formal curriculum.

Launching the revised Zambian Highway Code in Lusaka on Friday, Prof Lungwangwa said the change in the behavior of all road users, drivers, passengers and pedestrians alike required mass education in road safety.

He urged schools to establish road safety clubs just like there are HIV-AIDS clubs in schools. He said road users should acquire a copy of the fifth edition of the Highway Code and put the contents to good use at all times.

Prof Lungwangwa urged media houses especially radio and television to give attention to road safety public education programmes in their broadcasts.

He directed the Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) to ensure that road traffic law enforcement was enhanced throughout the country especially on the highway, to complement road safety education.

“Road traffic patrols on our major highways should be undertaken 24 hours a day,” Prof Lungwangwa said.

He said the cost of road accidents in low income countries such as Zambia was estimated to be one per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

“Road accidents have a negative effect on our economic growth and development efforts,” Prof Lungwangwa said.

“In this regard, government will always ensure that enhancing road safety in Zambia remains a top priority as the benefits of our efforts far outweigh the associated costs incurred when road traffic accidents occur.”

He said the implementation of new and more stringent traffic laws such as speed limits or the vehicle seat belt wearing law, costly as it may seem, was meant to protect the lives and should therefore be proactively encouraged by all citizens.

“Making road safety a priority means placing a higher value on life and preserving that life and public property because road accidents can happen to anyone of us at any time. Road safety must be a subject of major concern by all of us,” Prof Lungwangwa said.

And RTSA director Frederick Mwalusaka said the increased motorisation in the country had not been cross-matched with a corresponding increase in road transport infrastructure development and the result was the increase in conflict between the various modes of traffic that was seen today.

“Roads as a public commodity are thus becoming scarce and calls for rationalisation of the resource by all road users,” he said.

“The baseline figure for motor vehicle population in Zambia in December 2006 was 183,000 motor vehicles which today according to statistics held on the Zambia Transport Information System (ZAMTIS) is well over 307,000 motor vehicles excluding government-owned vehicles as of December 2009.”

Mwalusaka said despite the increase in motorisation, the country had faired quite well in reducing the fatality rate from 65 per 10,000 vehicles in 2006 to 48 fatalities per 10,000 vehicles in 2008.

He said RTSA considered the launch of the Highway Code as another milestone achieved and a timely intervention that should help road users to learn to share the road space equitably and in a safe manner.

RTSA board chairman Winstone Mwandila said the transportation of goods and people needed to be done in an efficient and timely manner.

“In order to maximize the net benefit to the economy, an efficient transport system needs to be augmented with a safe transportation environment, otherwise the benefits that are derived from transport can be lost through road traffic accidents,” said Mwandila.