IRINGA residents have been urged to utilize zebra crossings very well because it helps pedestrians cross from one side of the road to the other.
The Road Safety Committee Secretary for Iringa Regional Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Butusyo Mwambelo said Zebra crossings have white strips painted onto the road in the crossing area.
SSP Mwambelo who is also the Regional Traffic Officer (RTO) made the statement yesterday during the Road safety week celebrations held in Iringa Town, where they used the celebration to encourage road users about how to use the road by observing road traffic signs.
She said some pedestrians don’t know how use zebra crossings properly because some were crossing well talking to mobile phones and chatting with friends as they cross the road.
During the whole week celebration of this campaign, variety of educational banners, safety posters, safety films, pocket guides and leaflets related to the road safety are distributed to the on road travelers.
She said that compared to locations without crossings, pedestrians are able to cross the road more quickly with Zebra crossings.
SSP Mwambelo said Children find zebra crossings particularly beneficial because they find it difficult to judge the speed of traffic when crossing on their own without crossing facilities.
The elderly too also benefit more from zebra crossings because without a crossing the road might require them to move very quickly to cross, and this may be difficult for them.
She said Vehicle users are required to stop when they see a pedestrian waiting at the edge of a zebra crossing to allow them to cross the road.
on the other hand, SSP Mwambelo said in 2017 Iringa region recorded a decline in the road traffic accidents compared to 2016 largely due to the following reasons; a good deal with some road safety stakeholders such as SUMATRA, TANROADS and Fire brigade.
In 2016 the region recorded a total 121 road accidents and in 2017 the region recorded 95 accidents.
And for motorbike accidents 43 road accidents were recorded in 2016 compared to 2017 only 26.
She pointed out that the controlling the speed of long-distance buses by monitoring the timetable schedules provided by sumtra has seen the decrease the rood accidents.
On his part, the Acting Iringa Regional Commissioner Richard Kasesela on behalf of RC Amina Masenza said that most road accidents were caused by human errors and by not observing properly the road traffic signs.
He said that the number of road accident in the region were motorbikes without licenses, whose driver learn to drive a motorbike today and tomorrow is on the road driving it.
Kasesela said that road safety education was a key factor that can help reduce road traffic accident in region and elsewhere in the country because it was a kind of education which guide on how to use the road.
On that note, Kasesela has urged motorbike drivers not to carry more than one passenger and wear helmets.
He said that people should not board the motorbike without wearing helmets failure to do that it is against the country’s law.
He advised all road users to observe road traffic signs to avoid unnecessary road traffic accidents, adding that all vehicles that were not fit should not be on the road.
On the issue of environmental conservation, Kasesela urged all passenger buses to put some dustbins in their vehicles and should not allow passengers through dirty through the windows.
Nearly 1.24 million people die each year on road accidents, about 3,400 deaths per day in accordance with the World Health Organization (WHO) 2011-2020, and half of the people who die from a road accident are 'walking on foot, bicycle and motorcycle.
