Road crashes are a growing problem in Burundi

Road accidents are going in crescendo these days. The recent case is dated on 26th August, and a big number of people have lost their lives –by Diane Uwimana

A truck crashes other cars on the National Road RN1©Iwacu

The recent car crash has occurred this Monday on the National Road number one (RN1) at the entrance of Bujumbura City Council, and killed a considerable number of human beings. According to preliminary information, including eyewitnesses, the accident has been caused by the problems of the brakes of the truck which was also in high speed though loaded enough.
“Brake breakdowns often occur on sloping roads like at that place, after a long trip without interruption. Very soon, we are going to prepare a parking station ground at Bugarama where drivers will be required to stop for a while and check their trucks in order to avoid these kinds of accidents,” states Road Security Police Commander Arthémon Nzitabakuze.
According to Gordien Niyungeko, the President of “OPRASEVR”, an Organisation for Accidents Prevention and Rescuing Victims, road crashes occurring in Burundi are due to different reasons. “The first reason is the lack of road signals: there are few signals which show where to stop or drive”, points out Niyungeko.
He goes on saying that the drivers ‘behaviour also causes road accidents. “If we look at the way people get their driving licence, it may explain how people drive and the number of repetitive accidents every day. In fact, many people complain that driving licences are often given freely or without passing the driving test very seriously,” adds Niyungeko.
Furthermore, he indicates that corruption has become a routine. “We can’t imagine how someone has an accident at the Bujumbura City Council entrance while he comes from the countryside while there are many police roadblocks everywhere along that National Road!” he wonders.
The new road law is also among the causes of the road crashes. “Its implementation is still an issue considering its feasibility. For instance, driving at 40km/h in town and 60km/h in the countryside is not respected. There isn’t any mechanism to control high speed”, he points out.
According to him, the government should apply the prevention policy and its accompanying measures in order to facilitate free and safe movement.
Moreover, he mentions that the victims of those road crashes are not insured as it should be. “When there is an excess of one person in a car, the insurance companies sacrifice others because they consider the number of people to be insured as indicated on the insurance car card”, regrets Niyungeko.