Police impound over 70 vehicles in Mzimba

Police in Mzimba have impounded at least 70 vehicles deemed not roadworthy to curb road accidents in the district.

The district recorded six accidents in August this year out of which three were fatal. In contrast, four road accidents happened during the same period last year.

Speaking in an interview yesterday, Mzimba Police Station spokesperson Peter Botha said traffic police officers have embarked on the exercise to get rid of unroadworthy vehicles which threaten people’s lives.

“The accidents prompted the police to carry out a sweeping exercise to get rid of unroadworthy vehicles. The vehicles will only be released after the motorists pay a fine.

“However, this exercise did not rule out other offences such as driving without licence, exceeding capacity, failing to comply with road signs, wrong parking, reckless driving, expired driving licence and expired certificate of fitness. All these offences contravene the Road Traffic Act,” he said.

Botha also said the exercise will be extended to rural areas to control accidents in various parts of the district.

Northern Region Police  Headquarters last month said 79 people died in road accidents in the region between January and June 2017. This was an increase from 59 fatalities that occurred in the region during the same period last year.

However, according to Northern Region Police spokesperson Peter Kalaya, the region registered a decrease in road accidents as 152 were recorded in the first six months of 2016 while 135 were recorded this year. n