Over 16,000 accidents in first half of 2015 claim over 1,000 lives

The Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) has recorded over 16, 000 road traffic accidents in the first half of 2015 resulting in 1, 028 deaths.

Briefing journalists in Lusaka today on the current road safety situation in the country, RTSA Chief Executive Officer Zindaba Soko says the first quarter of 2015 saw 465 people die in road accidents, while 563 people died in the second quarter.

Mr. Soko says comparatively, the year 2014 had 865 fatalities by end of June revealing an upward movement by 19 percent this year.

He says there is need for every road used to get involved in ensuring that the country attains the 50 percent reduction in road traffic accidents as required by the United Nations decade of Action on Road safety which runs from 2011 to 2020.

And Mr Soko says the agency is implementing a robust and electronic system to manage all road transport and safety matters which will be lunched and made available for use by December this year.

Mr. Soko explains that this technological innovation looks at moving away from manual systems to a more digital process, thereby curbing human interference in the processing of road transport services.

He says this in turn will contribute to the reduction of road traffic accidents.

Mr Soko states the system will include print-on-demand driver’s licenses, online driver licensing check up and e-ticketing.

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