2,000 pedestrians killed on Zimbabwe roads in three years

At least 2 000 pedestrians have died on Zimbabwe's roads after being hit by vehicles in the last three years, while more than 30 000 were injured during the same period.

Statistics supplied by the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ) and the police show that most of those hit were without reflectors.

Speaking at the seventh annual Road Safety summit held recently in Johannesburg, South Africa, TSCZ director of Operations, Research and Marketing Mr Proctor Utete who was representing Zimbabwe, said there is need for publicising information on the importance of visibility enhancing regalia.

"Safety reflectors for pedestrians come in the form of armbands, tabards, reflective jackets/suits and even raincoats which are reflective," he said.

"There is need for educating people on the need to wear reflectors and also giving them knowledge on how they work and help them.

"They need to have knowledge on the reason to wear reflectors as a pedestrian and we will be availing reflective materials at an affordable price," said Mr Utete .

TSCZ said making use of safety reflectors was a solution to pedestrians' visibility. It minimised fatalities.

TSCZ would be raising awareness on road safety by imparting knowledge and developing an understanding of the risks with a view to changing attitudes and behaviour.

TSCZ officers would be visiting schools, women's groups, churches and youth organisations, among others to raise awareness of road safety for the benefit of pedestrians.

"It is recognised that the supreme law states that road safety campaigns as a stand-alone measure generally do not have a large effect on road safety. However, campaigns are crucial as a support for other measures such as legislation and enforcement," he said.