MAZHANDU ROAD TRACK RECORD

Mazhandu family bus services is one of the leading public service vehicles in the country, it is also one of the trusted transporters by many.

the company has grow in a number of fleet buses covering almost any part of the ten provinces of Zambia, a feat not so easy to achieve by many.

However any business is never short of accidents and from my random review of events, Mazhandu bus services has had an accident almost on a yearly basis.

On 26-27 February 2013 a Mazhandu family bus services registration number ABX 8677 was burnt to ashes along the livingstone-zimba road.

Casualties: luckily there were no deaths recorded as the driver noticed the smoke earlier such that passengers were able to disembark and retrieve their luggage before it went in flames.

On 10-11 December 2013, a Mazhandu family bus registration ALP 5118 was involved in a road traffic accident at an area called Munyumabisi located about 15Kilometers away from Monze.

The bus was going to Sesheke from Kitwe.

Casualties: FOUR passengers dead in that road traffic accident while 12 others sustained serious injuries.

Cause of accident: excessive speed.

On February 17, 2015 another Mazhandu family bus registration number ACZ 4562 overturned on the ndola-kitwe dual carriageway around 14:20 hours.

Casualties: a man died when he jumped from the overturning bus while 16 other passengers suffered injuries.

Cause of accident: the driver lost control because the road was slippery after heavy rains.

On February 29, 2016 a Scania bus Registration number ABK 8288 belonging to Mazhandu family bus services was involved in a road traffic accident from sesheke to Lusaka along nakatindi road.

Causalities: leaf one female passenger dead and 11 others were injured.

Cause of accident: the driver of the bus lost control due to over speeding and hit into an oxcart which was being pulled by four donkeys.

On Monday the 4^th of April 2016 Mazhandu bus, registration number ALP 5119, overturned at place called Green Leaf on the Kabwe Kapiri Mposhi road.

Causalities: Six people died while 7 others were reported to be in are in critical condition, and the other 51 passengers suffered minor injuries.

Cause of accident: the driver was said to be over speeding.

From my brief analysis, from 2013 to date, the family bus services have at least recorded one road accident per year.

The major cause of accident in most of the recorded accidents involving mazhandu fleet is over speeding.

Has the bus company ignored the installation of speed limiters and do the drivers at mazhandu family bus services observe traffic regulations?

Who is to blame, the road transport and safety agency or the government roads or even the mazhandu family bus services?

The Speech Analyst