Mozambique: Authorities record 387 road deaths in H1, 11% fewer YoY

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

Mozambique: Authorities record 387 road deaths in H1, 11% fewer YoY

8:28 CAT | 07 Aug 2023

FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Lusa]

Mozambique recorded a total of 387 deaths from road accidents in the first half of this year,a reduction of 11% when compared to the 434deaths recorded in the same period of 2022, indicates a balance sheet of the ministry of transport.

The deaths resulted from a total of 357 road accidents recorded in the same period, which also caused 295 serious injuries and 412 slight injuries, indicates the report of the ministry of transport and communications of Mozambique, sent to Lusa on Friday.

The ministry points to speeding, mechanical deficiencies, poor pedestrian crossing, disregard for priority, illegal overtaking, driving under the influence of alcohol as the main causes of road accidents.

“The provinces of Nampula, Zambézia and Cabo Delgado have a potential for increased cases due to the rapid expansion of motorbikes and motorcyclists,” the document said.

According to the balance sheet, the rate of road accidents and their consequences decreased in 2023, compared to last year, a factor that results from the mitigation measures implemented by the authorities.

Among these measures are “speed and drink-driving checks, checks on the technical condition of vehicles, campaigns to raise awareness of the use of helmets by cyclists and motorcyclists and lectures on road safety”.

In addition to road accidents, another 129 people died in the first half of this year from maritime and railway accidents in Mozambique.

Of the total, 76 deaths were caused by maritime accidents, 25 more compared to the same period in 2022, and 53 by railway incidents, 19 more cases, the ministry said.

According to the document, the province of Inhambane, in southern Mozambique, recorded the highest number of fatalities from maritime incidents, with a cumulative 22 deaths, while the province of Nampula, in the north of the country, did not register any cases.

The authorities point to “overcrowding and lack of maintenance of vessels, lack of monitoring of weather reports, navigation at night, crew under the influence of alcohol and lack of qualification” as the main causes of incidents at sea.

The ministry of transport also said that accidents involving trains also caused 28 injuries, between serious and minor, in addition to 95 derailments, 55 run overs and 25 collisions with vehicles.

Among the causes is “negligence and disobedience at level crossings, lack of maintenance of signalling, sabotage of infrastructure and erosion by climatic events”, the report indicates.

According to the authorities, the airline sector can be defined as “the safest of all branches of transport” in Mozambique, having registered, in the first half of the year, an accident with a private foreign aircraft, which crashed due to lack of fuel, without causing deaths.

“The most frequent incidents are return to the runway after take-off, mostly linked to mechanical deficiencies,” the ministry said in its report.

According to the transport sector, the biggest challenge for the airline industry is to ensure greater punctuality in flights and the reduction of cancelled, returned and rescheduled flights.

Source: Lusa