Lovemore Lubinda|Tino Choga
In a move to assist victims of road carnage, the government of Zimbabwe is working on the modalities to introduce a road accident account, after concerns were raised over victims’ failure to get compensation for the any loss suffered due to traffic accidents.
This comes after the realisation that usually most accident victims suffer in silence, not knowing what to do after being involved in an accident.
Analysts believe that some are not even aware of the statutory provision for road accident victim compensation. The Road Traffic Act section 38B (1) compels drivers of passenger public transport to get a policy of insurance providing a benefit to every person who suffers a loss or injury in an accident.
The Act spells out what compensation to be given to the victim and in which cases, it further compel the driver of a passenger service vehicle to display such insurance disk on the windscreen of the vehicle, of which failure to do so attract a fine or jail term up to three months.
The worrying part is that despite these statutory provisions, most of the road accident victims are still continuing to suffer in silence.
Passengers Association of Zimbabwe (PAZ) has been calling for the establishment of a road vehicle accident assistance fund to cater victims of road carnage in the country, after the view that a number of people in the country fail to receive compensation or insurance cover in the event of an accident, with some not even aware of the provision.
The association’s co-ordinator Tafadzwa Goliati says Zimbabwe is one of the countries with a high accident rate in southern Africa and yet accident victims and their dependants fail to receive compensation to cover medical bills or to cushion their survivors against such eventualities.
He adds that his organisation is engaging all stake holders in the industry as well as educating passengers on the statutory provision for compensation of traffic accident victims.
“Insurance companies have been cashing on third party cover from the vehicle owners but the money takes ages to be released and more often than not, does not cover the injured person’s welfare, also taking advantage of the fact that some victims are not aware of the provision,” Goliati says.
He says the fund was long overdue, and would be set up in a similar manner as the motor vehicle accident funds in South Africa, where a certain percentage is levied on fuel towards the fund and administered as a parastatal of government.
Addressing transport operators in Harare recently, Transport and Infrastructure Development minister Joram Gumbo said though long overdue, the government is the process of carrying out feasibility studies over the matter.
“We are working on structures to establish the fund by carrying out research to avoid shortcomings, so that we come up with policies that assist road carnage victims. So far we have been relying on regional feedback through case studies and visits so that we come up with something that is well organised,” he said.
Meanwhile, according to ZIMSTATS, the number of vehicles recorded operating without some form of insurance rose from 2678 in 2010 to 28 033 in 2015, with bad driving habits also propping out as a notable element of causing traffic accidents. In most of these cases victims have failed to get compensation, hence the need for a road accidents fund.
Zimbabwe’s roads have become death traps; it has become common that the country records devastating road carnage during public holidays. Most accidents have been attributed to human error, speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol, using un-roadworthy vehicles, among others, while in some cases the state of the road infrastructure has also been blamed.
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