Please be careful on the roads — whether passenger, driver or pedestrian. We are all reliable for the life of another individual. We must not speed or drink-drive but observe traffic rules.
AS the country prepares to enjoy the festive season, we call on motorists and pedestrians to be more careful and change their behaviour on the country’s roads during this time. The festive period is a time when the country loses thousands of lives due to road accidents.
The regrettable fact is that road traffic accidents cost the country hundreds of innocent lives. This situation is very much at odds with our vision to eradicate the three challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment.
The onus is on us to reverse the damage done by road carnages by placing road safety at the forefront of the transport agenda.
The people who die on our roads are people we know … people die in buses, others in the trains, other people die walking on the roads.
These people are family members. We talk about providers. We talk about leaders of churches. We talk about brothers, sisters, friends, colleagues and people who matter in everybody’s lives.
Tanzania loses hundreds of lives every year due to road carnage. Out of these are young people aged between 19 and 34 years.
The situation needs to improve and motorists need to change their driving behaviour.
We should change our behaviour and attitudes for the better when we use the roads, especially as we approach the festive season.
Do not drive while intoxicated or fatigued, do not use your mobile phone while driving, watch your speed, ensure the road worthiness of your vehicle and always adhere to road regulations.
The human and economic cost is too high for us not to re-think the manner in which we approach road safety as individuals.
Road traffic accidents are a major health problem worldwide. It is estimated that 3,000 people die and 30,000 are seriously injured on the world's roads every day with the majority of the casualties coming from low and middle income countries.
For a long time road traffic accidents have been the leading cause of permanent disability and mortality among those aged 10 to 50 years. In many developing countries, incidences of various injuries tends to increase with road traffic accidents, which appear to be the leading cause of traumatic injuries.
It is time for the Executive to come up with strict rules and regulations in attempt to contain the problem. The government should direct the Surface and Marine Transport Regulatory Authority (Sumatra) to come up with tougher regulations that will help curb road accidents.
It is obvious that the existing regulations are not tough enough to send a serious message to reckless drivers and bus owners. It is high time we came up with something more serious to deal with this problem once and for all.
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