Yesterday The
Herald crew surveyed Mbare Musika, Dema, Marondera, Mazowe , Glendale and
Banket where it witnessed police at roadblocks with breathalysers.
Some motorists
driving under the influence of alcohol were arrested and their vehicles
impounded.
Drivers faced
prosecution at court.
This comes
after the Government last month, handed over more than 100 state-of-the-art
breathalysers to the police.
The equipment,
acquired through the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ), includes 100
breathalysers, 15 breathalyser printers and 1 000 disposable breathing
apparatus.
The
breathalysers represent a significant shift from previous enforcement methods.
The devices provide quick, accurate, and legally admissible results by
measuring the amount of alcohol in a person’s breath.
This eliminates
the reliance on subjective assessments like slurred speech or unsteady
movement, which are often challenged in court.
Under the Road
Traffic Act, driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 80 milligrammes or
more per 100 millilitres of blood is a serious offence. Penalties include fines
of up to level 10, imprisonment for up to five years, or both.
Commuter
omnibus and heavy-vehicle drivers face even harsher penalties, with jail terms
of between one and 10 years.
Police
Commissioner-General Stephen Mutamba said most of the accidents that have
caused so much untold suffering across the country were as a result of human
error.
“This speaks
directly to our collective conscience as a people and should invoke individual
commitment around collective efforts to enhance road safety.
“In this
regard, we sincerely appeal to all Zimbabweans to observe road traffic rules
and ensure that their driving conduct is in line with the country’s laws.
“Whilst we are
sending this message at the onset of the Festive Season, we equally encourage
that this should not be an occasional habit, but something which should be
entrenched in our daily conduct in order to guarantee law and order on the
country’s roads.
“Doing so would
ensure that good driving conduct becomes part of our culture as a people.”
Comm-Gen
Mutamba warned motorists against drinking and driving, saying they had deployed
fully equipped officers on the country’s major highways.
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