There has been in recent years a sharp rise in the number of fatal road traffic accidents involving animals, according to figures from the Police and the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ).

THERE is so much to think about when driving: Other cars, your speed, pedestrians, poor roads and reckless drivers.
It hardly seems fair that we have to worry about animals too; but it is a danger we cannot ignore any longer.
Wandering farm animals, particularly on country roads, often turn into deadly hazards.
Hitting large animals can cause severe injuries to drivers and passengers as well as extensive damage to vehicles.
Worse still, in trying to avoid direct impact, motorists may fall into ditches, crash on trees or other objects, resulting in serious accidents.
Death and permanent injuries are often the tragic results of such accidents.
After the horrific fatal road traffic accident involving two heavy vehicles and a donkey along the Masvingo-Beitbridge road in the wee hours of last Friday, road traffic safety is taking centre stage once again.
Tragedy struck along the infamous highway when a Beitbridge bound MB Transport bus carrying 51 passengers, mostly cross border traders, hit a donkey about 45km from the border town before it swerved and encroached into the opposite lane where it collided head-on with a haulage truck headed for Harare, killing a dozen people.
Forty-five others were injured, 19 of them critically.
There has been in recent years a sharp rise in the number of fatal road traffic accidents involving animals, according to figures from the Police and the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ).
The latest accident has revived debate on how to safeguard road users against the latest scourge, which accounts for a major share of over 200 deaths recorded in the country every year through road traffic accidents.
The Beitbridge crash came hard on the heels of another accident in which a bus plunged into a head of cattle near Chegutu two weeks ago, killing 18 cattle.
No human fatalities were recorded, although scores of passengers escaped with injuries.
Incredible pictures of this accident went viral on social media.
Stakeholders in the transport sector have called on government to act to try and curb animal-related road carnage.
And as expected of it, the cash-strapped government has only responded with promises that have never seen the light of day. These promises have been repeated every time tragedies happen on the country’s roads.
Government has promised to come up with strong legislation that forces livestock owners to take control of their animals and see to it that they do not stray onto the roads.
This is probably the single most effective measure that can significantly reduce the carnage, but it has only received little attention.
Another suggestion has been to put reflectors on livestock so that motorists would be able to detect animals on the road from a good distance.
Again, this has not been followed up on, with the only meaningful action in that direction coming from two schoolgirls from Gumbonzvanda High School in Wedza who were recently in the news for inventing the reflector which has since been embraced by TSCZ.
The council has since started an awareness programme to promote the idea.
Government has also repeatedly promised to fence off major highways to prevent animals from straying onto the roads, but has failed to implement the plan due to shortage of funds.
Only recently, the issue popped up again in Parliament, with legislators taking Transport and Infrastructure Development Minister, Joram Gumbo, to task as they sought assurance on what was being done by the State to prevent these accidents.
According to records from Parliament, during a recent question time in the National Assembly, Bulawayo Central legislator, Dorcas Sibanda, asked Gumbo to explain government policy regarding animals causing accidents on the roads.
“We have had numerous accidents and people have died because of animals like cattle and donkeys on our highways. What is the government doing to remove these animals?” she asked.
Gumbo’s response was far from convincing.
“What we are doing as a ministry is that we are going to come up with an arrangement with the locals so that we fence off the road to make sure that there are no stray cattle roaming on our roads. We have already started doing that in Somabula area,” he said.
Somabula area along the Harare-Bulawayo highway has been one of the most dangerous spots in terms of road traffic accidents caused by animals in recent years.
Most notably, national hero and former army chief, Mike Karakadzai, died when his car hit a stray cow in that area; it rolled several times before landing on its roof.
Gumbo went on to blame cattle farmers for not taking good care of their animals.
“Some people do not look after their animals and at the end of the day when their animals are involved in accidents where people die, they cannot even come and claim those beasts or carcasses. The owners know that if they are identified, they will be fined,” he said.
What should be borne in mind is the fact that very few farm people consider their livestock as a source of danger, even despite a number of serious injuries and deaths occurring every year as a result of animal-related accidents.
What therefore could save the situation is to find multiple solutions, not least targeting the farmers and drivers themselves who need thorough awareness.
Some critics feel not much effort is being done to educate drivers on dangers of driving through livestock zones.
This is when defensive driving skills become handy.
The case of the MB Transport bus could be a perfect example whereby the driver completely failed to exercise his defensive driving skills, which are mandatory for public passenger drivers at law in Zimbabwe.
In this respect, it would be imperative to educate drivers on the behaviours of different animals they could encounter on the road.
This could be achieved through engaging animal behaviour experts to educate drivers.
Anyone who has worked with livestock would agree that each animal has its own way of behaving, making it important for drivers to know how to react when suddenly confronted with any animal.
Animals’ senses differ a great deal according to species.
Cattle, goats and donkeys see and hear things very differently, and they react very differently too.
For example, according to one study, cattle have close to 360 degree panoramic vision, meaning a quick movement behind them may confuse them and cause them to run straight into the vehicle.
Donkeys are easily bamboozled by light and sound and as such, they hardly make a movement when a vehicle moves towards them. They completely freeze when you decide to sound the horn.
Another study done in the United States suggests that all domestic animals see things in black and white, not in colour.
They also have difficulty judging distance.
These factors help explain why these animals are often balky and skittish, particularly in unfamiliar surroundings.
Aside from identifying direct responsibility for the crash, authorities also need to investigate bus operators’ practices to see if passenger safety is being compromised in by tight competition for passengers on the roads.
A police probe so far suggests that the driver may have been speeding well beyond the limit and lost control of the bus as soon as he hit the donkey on the pothole-riddled road.
Last month, a Pfochez bust travelling to Gweru was involved in a head-on collision with a minibus just outside Kwekwe, killing 32 passengers.
Last year, there was an outcry when a ZUPCO and a Pioneer bus collided head-on along the Harare-Nyamapanda highway, killing 27 people.
If these horror accidents do not cause authorities to sit down and come up with measures to contain the situation, one would wonder what else can.
The MB Transport bus crash, whose victims were poor traders trying to fend for their families during these trying times, should provide an occasion for authorities to reconsider whether current safety regulations are adequate and being properly followed.