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OpenZhongtong Says Installing Speed Limiters On New Buses
Chinese bus manufacturer, Zhongtong, says it has started installing speed limiters on all the new coaches destined for the Zimbabwean market in a move meant to reduce accidents involving buses.
Zhongtong buses Zimbabwe representative Colin Luhaitang told The Herald on Sunday that among its customers who bought buses fitted with speed limit devices are Mukumba Brothers (Inter Africa), CAG, Mandaza and Timboon, among others.
He said several months ago, the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Development engaged the bus manufacturers following a bus accident. Said Luhaitang:
I told him that to reduce accidents the drivers should concentrate and avoid tired driving.
Secondly, they must control their speed as some of the buses can reach up to 140km/h which is too much for a bus.
I reported to our mechanics in China. After July 2023 all the buses coming after that date our buses already have speed limiters.
The speed limiter is between 100 to 110 kilometres per hour being the maximum.
He also said the speed limiters would complement the tracking system which was a little bit expensive and time-consuming in the monitoring.
Luhaitang added that the speed limiters are installed permanently and can work for a lifetime if the drivers avoid tampering with them.
In 2023, the Government gazetted Statutory Instrument 118 of 2023 which stipulates that all public service vehicles have to be fitted with a speed limiting device so that such vehicles will not exceed 100km/h.
The regulations were passed after the drivers of a Zebra Kiss bus and a Rimbi bus, Mike Makwara and Misheck Penyaiwere, respectively, were involved in a road race along the Harare-Nyamapanda Road near Mutoko on 12 January 2023 which ended in a fatal accident that killed one person.
Both drivers, who were driving Zhongtong buses, were convicted of reckless driving by Mutoko Magistrate Elijah Sibanda in April.
Makwara was jailed for two years, and Misheck Penyaiwere was jailed for 30 months.
Zimbabwe Public Transport Organisation (ZPTO) chairman Sam Nhanhanga said they were now installing speed limiters on old buses. He said:
Zhongtong buses we have procured lately are coming in with speed limiters already fixed. The manufacturer will also be servicing the gadgets.
We are also in the process of engaging the manufacturer to fix old buses. As an association, we continue to encourage our members to comply and put speed limiters on their buses.
He added that the government should push for the acquisition of Euro 3 buses that have a maximum speed ranging between 91-110 kilometres per hour.
More: Pindula News
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