Mozambique: Road accidents – a daily challenge for students on their way to and from school

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Mozambique: Road accidents – a daily challenge for students on their way to and from school

12:14 CAT | 04 Mar 2025

File photo: Noticias

The lack of road safety education and reckless driving make the school run a risky journey for children and teenagers. Traffic education in Mozambique is still deficient, with many young people still ignorant of basic safety rules.

At the same time, the lack of educational programs in schools and of awareness among parents makes the situation worse, rendering the streets and avenues veritable minefields for students.

According to the police authorities, Mozambique recorded 687 road accidents last year, resulting in 825 deaths, 651 serious injuries and 1,057 minor injuries. There were also more than 1,000 cases of material damage, ranging from minor to major.

The most frequent types of accidents include: 248 run-overs, 168 skidding, 105 collisions between vehicles, 100 collisions between cars and motorcycles, 24 collisions with fixed obstacles, 17 collisions with bicycles and 12 passenger injuries.

The main causes of accidents are speeding, irregular overtaking, inadequate pedestrian crossings, mechanical failures, driving under the influence of alcohol and driving in the wrong direction.

In view of this scenario, protecting students in traffic is a priority, especially at times of high traffic flow, when streets and roads are crowded with students going to and from school. Responsibility must be shared between drivers, pedestrians, authorities and the school community.

The public education officer at the General Command of the Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM), Felismina Mondlane, highlights that road safety depends on three main elements, namely the person, the vehicle and the road. However, the human factor is the most worrying, as individual behaviour is a determining factor in traffic safety. “Among the main risk factors for students are speeding near schools, the lack of pedestrian crossings and adequate traffic lights, and failure to respect traffic rules by drivers and pedestrians,” Mondlane comments.

“The inappropriate use of school transport, often without seatbelts or in overcrowded vehicles, also represents a great danger,” she added.

To mitigate these risks, measures are being implemented by the Traffic Police, in partnership with the National Road Transport Institute (INATRO) and telecommunications operators such as Vodacom and Movitel, through the School Traffic Regulators (RTE) project.

Mondlane recommended that parents check the conditions of the vehicle transporting their children and require the presence of a responsible companion inside the vehicle, ensuring that capacity limits are respected.

“Training sessions are also being held with students on road safety, aiming to reduce the number of accidents near schools and in communities,” Mondlane stressed, emphasizing that drivers must strictly follow traffic rules and drive cautiously, especially in areas with high pedestrian traffic, such as markets, hospitals, daycare centres and schools, to avoid tragedies that could be prevented with greater awareness and responsibility.

Source: Noticias