Mozambique: Association calls for constant review of road signs, enforcement

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Mozambique: Association calls for constant review of road signs, enforcement

9:37 CAT | 11 Nov 2021

Photo: AMVIRO TV Facebook

The Mozambican Association for Victims of Road Safety (AMVIRO) on Tuesday called for a joint response to stop deaths on Mozambican roads, saying that the review of signage and supervision should be constant.

“Without a joint strategy, we will not have any tangible result. All the measures taken should be articulated, and everyone is responsible, from the authorities to the drivers,” Alexandre Nhampossa, president of Amviro, told Lusa.
Nhampossa was reacting to the accident that killed 17 people on Saturday in Manhiça district, where four months ago, 32 people died in another accident involving public transport.

The latest accident in Manhiça province proves that it is essential that measures need to be taken to reduce the high accident rates in Mozambique.

Saturday’s accident happened when a jeep collided head-on with a light public transport vehicle travelling from Maputo to Xai-Xai, the capital of Gaza province.

The president of AMVIRO said the National Road No. 1 in Manhiça district needs better signalling and inspection, measures that should constantly be taking into account the speed of the vehicles on that road.

“The vehicles that leave Maputo, through National Road No. 1, speed up in the Manhiça area, and for that reason, it is a very sensitive point. The revision of signage and supervision should be constant,” he said.

The district had already been the scene of the most severe road accident ever recorded in Mozambique, with 32 deaths, which occurred on 3 July, involving two trucks and a bus that tried to overtake on the EN1.

On average, according to official data, Mozambique registers at least a thousand deaths from traffic accidents annually. 2020 was an exception, considering that 855 deaths were recorded, a decrease associated with less mobility due to the restrictions imposed by Covid-19.

Source: Lusa