Road Safety Strategic Shift
Local and international experts at the Afrosafe Conference in Lusaka are pushing for safer roads, stronger enforcement, and a Safe System approach to reduce traffic deaths and injuries.
By Francis Maingaila ♥️
Lusaka, Zambia 24—(11-06-2026) - Road safety experts meeting in Lusaka have called for urgent reforms to address Zambia’s growing road safety challenges, ranging from rising traffic fatalities and motorcycle crashes to unsafe pedestrian infrastructure and poor road user behaviour.
The calls were made during the 3rd Afrosafe Conference in Lusaka, hosted by the AFRO Safe Academy and the Zambia Road Safety Trust (ZRST), where local and international experts discussed practical solutions to reduce road traffic injuries and deaths.
Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) Director and Chief Executive Officer, Engineer Amon Mweemba, said road safety remains one of the greatest public health and development challenges of modern times.
Engineer Mweemba noted that every traffic crash represents either a life lost or a life permanently affected, with lasting consequences for families, communities, and the national economy. He stressed that many of these impacts are preventable through stronger and more coordinated road safety interventions.
He further stated that the Agency recognises the critical importance of quality data in improving road safety outcomes.
According to him, reliable data helps identify high-risk locations, track crash trends, assess the effectiveness of interventions, and guide more efficient allocation of resources.
Engineer Mweemba urged road safety practitioners to intensify efforts aimed at improving road infrastructure, promoting safer vehicles, encouraging responsible road use, and strengthening post-crash care systems.
He made these remarks in a speech delivered at the 3rd AfroSAFE Conference held at the University of Zambia.
He also emphasised that sustainable road safety systems must be anchored on strong institutions, effective legislation, adequate financing, and close stakeholder collaboration. He added that governments alone cannot achieve meaningful progress without collective action from all sectors of society.
Eng. Mate said Zambia’s road safety situation remains alarming, citing persistent fatalities on major roads such as the Great North Road, the Lusaka–Ndola Dual Carriageway and other high-risk routes despite ongoing awareness campaigns and enforcement measures.
“We need to find a solution to this problem of high accident mortality and have it resolved as a matter of urgency,” Eng. Mate said.
He identified poor driver behaviour as the leading cause of fatal accidents in Zambia, including speeding, reckless overtaking, drunk driving and disregard for traffic regulations.
According to Eng. Mate, it is concerning that despite repeated policy interventions by the RTSA and other stakeholders, human error continues to dominate accident statistics.
He called for stronger and more practical measures to improve road user conduct, arguing that enforcement alone has not produced the desired results.
Daniel Mwamba, Chairperson of the Zambia Road Safety Trust (ZRST), said Zambia is experiencing an increase in road traffic accidents involving motorcycles and cyclists, prompting renewed calls for stronger enforcement and road safety reforms.
Mwamba said motorcycle-related crashes are rising mainly in urban and peri-urban areas where motorcycle taxis have become a major mode of transport.
He noted that the rapid growth of the sector has not been matched by adequate safety regulation.
According to Mwamba, weak enforcement of traffic laws remains a major contributor to accidents, with common violations including failure to wear helmets, overloading, speeding and unlicensed riding.
He said young male riders are the most affected group, with hospitals reporting increasing numbers of trauma cases linked to motorcycle crashes.
Mwamba further observed that poor coordination in accident data collection is undermining national response efforts.
He said crash data remains fragmented among the police, hospitals and transport agencies, making it difficult to accurately track trends and develop effective interventions.
He also highlighted infrastructure challenges, including potholes, poor road markings and the lack of dedicated lanes for motorcycles and cyclists.
Speaking on the sidelines of the conference, Nathalie Chiavassa of the International Road Assessment Programme said discussions were building momentum around practical interventions aimed at reducing road traffic injuries in urban areas.
Chiavassa said the conference highlighted the need to redesign roads to better protect pedestrians, particularly around Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) stations, schools, markets and other busy public spaces.
She said the focus should shift from reacting to crashes after they happen to preventing them through safer infrastructure planning.
According to Chiavassa, participants emphasised the strong connection between urban design, risk perception and crash occurrence, identifying unsafe crossing points and inadequate pedestrian infrastructure as key contributors to urban road fatalities.
Meanwhile, civil engineering academic Prof. Dilip Kumar Das expressed concern over recurring infrastructure and systems challenges, saying many problems continue to persist despite efforts to address them.
Prof. Das questioned the effectiveness of current approaches, suggesting that repeated failures point to deeper structural and management weaknesses.
“Where do we go?” he asked, reflecting concern over persistent engineering and operational problems.
He stressed that such challenges require deliberate and sustained technical interventions to prevent recurrence.
The Pedestrian, Passenger and Cyclist Association of Zambia also raised concern over persistent pedestrian fatalities, warning that current road designs and transport systems continue to expose vulnerable road users to avoidable risks.
Association president Foster Chileshe said pedestrians, cyclists, passengers and persons with disabilities face unsafe conditions due to inadequate infrastructure, weak enforcement and excessive vehicle speeds in built-up areas.
He said road safety must be treated as a shared responsibility and not only an individual behaviour issue.
Presenting research findings, Chileshe noted that pedestrian crashes are concentrated in areas lacking sidewalks, safe crossings and adequate lighting, forcing pedestrians to share space with moving vehicles.
He added that more than half of pedestrian crashes occur in locations without formal crossing points, while minibus taxis are disproportionately involved in such incidents.
He called for adoption of a Safe System approach that prioritises infrastructure design, speed management and stronger regulation of public transport operations.
Enoch F. Sam highlighted the role of risk perception and belief systems in shaping pedestrian road safety behaviour, noting that cultural and psychological factors significantly influence how people respond to road dangers.
He said risk perception alone does not fully explain pedestrian safety behaviour, urging road safety interventions to incorporate behavioural and cultural dimensions alongside traditional awareness campaigns.
He advocated for tailored education strategies that reflect community-specific contexts.
The study concluded that improving road safety requires integrating traditional interventions with deeper understanding of human behaviour.
The conference also saw participation from the Department of Registrar of NGOs under the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services, which was in attendance, underscoring the multi-sectoral nature of road safety governance and the importance of coordinated stakeholder engagement in addressing road safety challenges in Zambia.
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