Out of the 188 incidents that were reported nationwide, the police only found 13 fatal road traffic accidents in which 14 individuals perished.
Additionally, K420,880 in fines for acknowledgment of guilt were gathered over the recent holiday.
According to police deputy spokesperson Danny Mwale, who spoke to Mwebantu, 34 accidents were recorded as serious injury road traffic accidents, resulting in 43 people suffering serious injuries, while 44 accidents were recorded as slight injury road traffic accidents, resulting in 59 people suffering only minor injuries. The remaining 97 accidents were recorded as damage-only accidents.
According to Mr. Mwale, Lusaka Province had the most traffic accidents with 79, followed by Copperbelt Province with 35, Eastern Province with 19, Central Province with 17, and Southern Province with 10.
“Luapula Province recorded nine road traffic accidents, North-Western and Muchinga Provinces recorded six road traffic accidents respectively.
Four accidents were reported in the Northern Province, compared to three in the Western Province, the official added.
Out of 117 road traffic accidents that were reported nationwide, 10 fatal road traffic accidents involving 10 fatalities were documented by the police during the same time period in the previous new year’s holiday (2021/2022), according to Mr. Mwale.
He claimed that compared to the prior holiday, 71 more accidents were reported during the current holiday.
During the previous New Year’s holiday, a total of K256, 125.00 in admission of guilt fines were collected, as opposed to K420, 880.00 during the most recent past holiday.
According to him, the sum denotes a K164, 755.00 rise in admission of guilt fines.
“The increase in the number of road traffic accidents is attributed to low compliance levels by most road users especially motorists. Zambia Police and Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) officers have since embarked on country-wide sensitization campaigns aimed at educating motorists and other road users on road safety regulations,” he said.
