VICE President Dr Philip Mpango has urged the police, specifically the traffic unit, to tighten control over school buses.

 Officiating at the national observance week for road safety and 50 years of the National Road Safety Council, he said that many of the buses do not meet road safety standards and are operated by unqualified drivers.

The police need to step up regulatory controls on school buses as many are not fit for road use, he elaborated, specifying that many such buses carry more passengers than their capacity, and the drivers lack proper qualifications.

He cited the case of an accident last April 12 in Arusha, where seven children died from driver negligence, saying that the police need to ensure that all drivers, especially those with licenses, observe all road driving safety regulations.

“All drivers who violate traffic laws should face strict penalties, whether they are government or private drivers,” he emphasised, demanding that the traffic police conduct surprise inspections of vehicles and assess driver qualifications.

They should take legal action against those who do not meet the standards, he said, alerting that if effective measures to control accidents are not taken, accidents will be the leading cause of death by 2030.

“Our nation lost a significant number of lives in 2023, with 1,733 accidents resulting in 1,647 deaths and 2,716 injuries,” he stated, pointing at a rise in motorcycle accidents. There were 435 accidents reported in 2023 leading to 376 fatalities, 44 more deaths than in 2022, he said.

Hamad Yusuf Masauni, the Home Affairs minister, said that curbing accidents demands implementing several projects, especially the Safe Cities initiative, which involves installing security cameras in cities. This project is nearing completion and will be implemented in Dodoma, Arusha, Mwanza, and Dar es Salaam, he said.

“We hope that once these projects are completed, we will be able to control accidents, especially in areas without police presence, thanks to the cameras that will be installed,” he remarked.

Daniel Sillo, the deputy minister and chairman of the council, pointed at human error as a major cause of accidents, as some drivers do not adhere to road safety regulations.

This leads to human errors and contributes significantly to the rise in accidents, he said, affirming that to address this situation the council has developed a strategy involving a range of stakeholders. “We will evaluate the situation after a few months,” he stated.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Camillus Wambura said that to tackle road accidents, the police have implemented various government directives, including installing surveillance systems to monitor speed and other road safety requirements.