AS one of the ways to minimise the number of fatalities and damage caused by road accidents, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Camillus Wambura has urged motorists to exercise caution while on the road.
He issued the directives yesterday in Dodoma, while closing a working session of Regional and District Traffic Officers (RTOs and DTOs).
"In terms of the evaluation we made on the increasing number of road accidents in the country, we addressed it in detail, and reminded the RTOs and DTOs that they should make adjustments to bring answers to this issue," he said.
"On the motorists' side," he continued, "we are telling them to halt recklessness, speeding, drunkenness and poor road use, which have caused many accidents."
He went on to say that Tanzanians should expect significant practical changes after the meeting that focused on major evaluation of road safety issues.
According to him, the first goal of the session was to evaluate the performance of traffic officers, while the second goal to assess training needs.
He also mentioned that the morals of traffic police were examined and that he hoped for reforms in the area.
Tanzania experienced tragic accidents in the last two months, as more than 39 people died in road accidents in different regions.
On 26 July, this year, 13 people including eleven students died in a gruesome car accident in the Mtwara region. In the collision, seventeen pupils were injured, some critically.
Two weeks after the incident, 20 people died in another road accident in Shinyanga region in which according to officials, a liquor bottle was found in one of the vehicles involved in the tragic incident.
The latest incident occurred on August 11 when six people died after a car they were travelling in from Arusha to Mwanza veered off Singida - Nzega highway before overturning thrice at Iguguno Shamba area in Mkalama District, Singida region.
Jumanne Sagini, Deputy Minister for Home Affairs while opening the meeting on August 11, urged RTOs and DTOs to continue taking tough measures against drivers and other road users, who violate road safety rules and regulations.
Mr Sagini said accidents that continue to occur in the country were because of non-adherence to road safety laws and rules.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) data published in 2020, road traffic accidents deaths in Tanzania reached 18,054 or 6.12 per cent of total deaths. The age adjusted death rate is 49.33 per 100,000 of population that ranks Tanzania number 10 in the world.
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A total of 1,200 people were killed in 1,594 road accidents that occurred in Tanzania between July 2021 and March 2022, according to the Ministry of Home affairs data.
During the same period 2,139 people were injured in road accidents. Between July 2020 and March 2021, 999 people were killed in 1,228 road accidents that left 1,589 people injured.
The statistics indicate that there has been an increase of 366 road accidents, which is a rise of 29.8 per cent.
While presenting the ministry's budget proposals for the fiscal year 2022/2023 in the august House, the minister Hamad Masauni stated that most of the accidents were due to reckless driving, defective vehicles and poor roads.
Engineer Masauni said police revoked driving licences for 87 drivers and suspended other driving permits for 141 drivers as punishment after they were implicated in causing road accidents.
