An epidemic of avoidable deaths: Why Zimbabwe's road carnage is a sign of systemic failure

The sheer scale of road carnage on Zimbabwe's highways is more than a tragic statistic-it is a damning indictment of systemic decay. The deaths and injuries that occur daily are not inevitable accidents; they are, in large part, unnecessary and entirely avoidable. If our government is serious about preserving life, it must acknowledge that a simple, yet fundamental, shift in policy could slash road fatalities by an estimated 75 percent.

Stop Reinventing the Wheel: Adopt Proven Road Safety Standards

Zimbabwe does not need to commission a costly study or embark on a complex, multi-year program to solve this crisis. The solution is already in practice across the world in nations with significantly lower accident rates. We must stop trying to reinvent the wheel and instead copy effective, established road safety mechanisms.

The most critical and immediate policy change must focus on the mechanical fitness of the vehicles on our roads. This requires instituting a mandatory, rigorous, multi-point vehicle inspection program as a non-negotiable prerequisite for annual vehicle registration renewal.

The Inspection Mandate

This inspection must be a comprehensive review, looking beyond a simple visual check. It should include:

1. Safety and Emissions Inspection: A detailed check of critical safety components like brakes, tires (tread depth and condition), steering, lights, horns, and suspension. Furthermore, an emissions check-focusing on components like the oxygen sensor and catalytic converter-is essential for public health and environmental integrity.
2.  Multi-Point Mechanical Inspection: A thorough assessment of the vehicle's health covering the exterior, interior, under the hood (engine and fluids), and under the vehicle (chassis and drivetrain). This will flag critical, accident-causing faults often ignored by owners.

Any vehicle that fails this mandated safety inspection must be immediately disqualified from driving on Zimbabwean streets. To tolerate mechanically unsafe vehicles is to knowingly endanger every other road user.

Swift and Uncompromising Enforcement

A strong policy is useless without equally strong enforcement. The penalty for contravening the vehicle safety law must be severe. Anyone caught operating a car that has failed its safety inspection must face the maximum penalty allowed by law, including steep fines and possible imprisonment. This sends an unequivocal message: road safety is paramount, and non-compliance will not be tolerated.

Beyond vehicle fitness, we must address the root causes of dangerous driving:

• Zero Tolerance for Impaired Driving: Driving Under the Influence (DUI) is not a minor offense; it is a potentially fatal act of negligence. Anyone caught driving while impaired must face immediate and significant jail time. There should be no leniency or possibility of a simple fine for this offense.
• Intelligent Enforcement, Not Intrusive Roadblocks: The current strategy of ubiquitous, daily roadblocks is often inefficient and a source of public frustration and corruption. Instead, the country must develop a sophisticated, technology-driven system-utilizing speed cameras, automated number plate recognition (ANPR), and surveillance-to automatically alert authorities to traffic law violators. Enforcement initiatives can then be targeted and effective, focusing limited police resources on genuine repeat offenders and high-risk areas, rather than conducting random checks on law-abiding citizens.

The epidemic of road carnage is preventable. It's time for the Zimbabwean government to stop treating accidents as inevitable. By immediately implementing mandatory, rigorous vehicle safety inspections and instituting uncompromising, technology-backed law enforcement, we can restore sanity to our roads and save thousands of lives. The political will to enact these changes is the only thing standing between the current crisis and a future of vastly safer transport. The time for action is now.