Driving instructors teach students to dodge danger on Zimbabwe roads

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Tafara Muvhevhi, zimbabwe The driving instructor started working 16 years ago, his job was simple: teach highway rules and prepare students to pass their driving test.

Today their priorities have changed. His main concern now is not just the exam, but whether his students can survive on some of the world’s deadliest roads. This is vital in a country where road accidents are among the biggest causes of death and road accident death rates are among the worst on the continent, according to the national statistics agency. in Zimbabwe, An accident occurs every 15 minutes and five people die and 38 are injured every dayAccording to the country’s traffic safety agency.

“Back then we were teaching by the book, everything was done by the book,” Muvhevhi said as he coached his latest student on parallel parking and reversing smoothly into areas marked with blue drums on a dusty and worn-out tarmac training ground on the outskirts of the capital Harare.

Once known for its orderly traffic and well-maintained roads, Zimbabwe’s road safety has steadily deteriorated since the 2000s; In the 2010s, the economic downturn negatively affected road maintenance, turned into traffic chaos as unofficial public transport increased and controls weakened. Despite renewed repairs and policing efforts, dangerous driving remains deeply entrenched.

“Other drivers are no longer patient with us, they boo, they overtake illegally, they put pressure on the students so our students are basically trying to fit in,” his student said before navigating the streets where both drivers and pedestrians show little respect for the rules.

For Winfrida Chipashu, a 19-year-old student studying accounting at the university, the roads of Harare are scarier than the accounting books.

“You can’t really compare it to accounting because you have all the concepts (in accounting),” Chipashu said. “When you’re driving in the forest, you get confused by other people not following the road rules.”

Roads are becoming more dangerous

The southern African country’s roads become deadliest during festive seasons and other holidays, but dangers lurk daily, largely due to dangerous driving which the government says is alarming.

Zimbabwe has one of the highest road accident death rates in Africa. World Health Organization Approximately 30 deaths per 100,000 people are estimated.

The contradictions are very evident on the roads. Minibus taxis carrying “safety first” signs swerve wildly into pedestrian lanes and into oncoming traffic. Fare collectors hang on doors and the backs of moving vehicles, shouting at customers. Sedans filled with 12 passengers, including luggage, defy the five-seat limit.

Authorities say that 94 percent of traffic accidents in the country with a population of 15 million are caused by human error. Munesu Munodawafa, president of the Zimbabwe Traffic Safety Council, said drivers and pedestrians distracted by mobile phones caused about 10 per cent of deaths.

“This is scary,” Munodawafa said. “For such a small population, these numbers are alarming.”

A regional problem

The crisis in Zimbabwe reflects a broader African example. Traffic accidents here kill approximately 300,000 people a year; That’s about a quarter of global deaths. The continent has the world’s highest death rate, at 26.6 deaths per 100,000 people, according to the UN Economic Commission for Africa. This means the global average is around 18. This is despite the fact that the continent of 1.5 billion people accounts for only 3% of the global vehicle population.

According to the World Health Organization’s latest African road safety report published in mid-2024, road traffic deaths in Africa are also increasing faster than other regions; deaths increase by 17% between 2010 and 2021.

The World Health Organization attributes this increase in part to weak road safety laws and enforcement, reckless driving, and rapid urbanization and motor vehicle use. Vehicle registrations in Africa almost tripled between 2013 and 2021, driven by imported second-hand vehicles and a sharp increase in motorcycles and three-wheelers. Pedestrians, cyclists and two- and three-wheeler drivers account for nearly half of all deaths, according to the UN agency.

in Uganda, places where unregulated motorcycles dominate transportationPolice stated that 44.5 percent of accidents in 2024 will be caused by careless overtaking and speed, while in neighboring Kenya and East Africa, Frequent accidents on rough roads and dangerous driving fuel have led to persistent calls for stricter road safety rules.

Search for solution

To improve road safety, Zimbabwe police have recently purchased body cameras and breathalyzers and are pushing for an overhaul of the driver licensing system, including docking points for criminals and revamping driver education programs to highlight the dangers of careless driving.

Police spokesman Paul Nyathi said: “Motorists are not licensed to be murderers, they are licensed to practice road safety and protect lives on the road but unfortunately this is not the case.”

For instructors like Muvhevhi, survival has become a lesson.

“When we teach our students, it’s no longer just about getting a driver’s license,” he said. “We teach them to survive despite the wrong actions of other road users.”

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