The Hell Run Is Back

Thursday 7^th February 2013 will for a long time be a day reflected upon with much sadness. It is the day that the third worst accident in our nation’s history occurred. 51 people lost their lives along Great North Road when a Post Bus and truck collided. According to reports the truck was attempting to avoid a Landcruiser that was over taking the bus. Unfortunately, that one negligent move denied people husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, friends and the list goes on. It was a really tragic scene. May Their Souls Rest in Peace. 74-year old Abraham Van Edeem has been charged with 51 counts of causing death by dangerous driving contrary to section 161 of road traffic Act No. 11 of 2002 of the laws of Zambia. There still remain many questions as to why such an accident happened and could it have been prevented?



Accident scene

Some people have said that the truck should not have moved off the road and the truck should have hit into the Landcruiser. For others, the truck driver should have swerved the other direction and not the direction of the bus. The old man is purely to blame for the accident. Then there are those who are blaming the road and advocating that it should be turned into a dual carriageway. I personally agree with the transformation of the road into a dual carriageway. The Great North Road probably claims more lives than any other road in the country. Once upon a time it was popularly known as the ‘Hell Run’. The Hell Run was the infamous stretch between Kapiri Mposhi and Tunduma in Tanzania. It cannot be disputed that this road holds great importance to our nation, and it is still a mystery how it has remained the same for decades despite the level of traffic on it.

Great North Road

                                             

It really did not have to take 51 people to die for the bulb to light up in someone’s brain that the road needs to be expanded. The President does not need to make a pronouncement before our roads can be made safer. This is simply being reactive and not proactive. Is it that difficult for people with the authority and responsibility to do what they should be doing? The Great North Road is not the only road that needs attention but I can bet you it will only grab attention when mass people die on it. I can only pray that the ambitious Link Zambia 8000 road project will be fulfilled. This country is in desperate need of a major road overhaul and let us hope that it will not only remain a wish.

I do admit that the road cannot be blamed entirely in the tragic accident; there are a number of factors that led to it. Even though we may ask many questions some of the answers we may never get, the Great North Road cannot be removed from the equation. It has now become a matter of urgency that issue of expanding the road is addressed. The President declared three days of national mourning, when that is done may we please do something to make our roads safer.