RATSA’s fast track court nets 6,000 traffic offenders

More than 6,000 offenders have been convicted in the Lusaka Fast Track Court set up last year to deal with traffic offenders, Zambia’s Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) revealed Wednesday.RTSA spokesperson Frederick Mubanga told journalists that the court had made it possible to speedily deal with road traffic offenders and obtain convictions where necessary unlike in the past when such cases had to go through mainstream courts.

He said of the 6,000 so far convicted, 40 percent had been convicted for driving motor vehicles without licenses while other prominent offences included driving under the influence of alcohol, over-speeding and failure to obey traffic instructions.

Deaths from road traffic accidents in Zambia currently account for the third highest causes of deaths after malaria and HIV-related diseases, a development that has forced the government to set up the fast track court to deter motorists from reckless driving.

Mubanga said due to the success of the fast track court in Lusaka, the RTSA was in the process of rolling out similar facilities in other provinces of the country beginning with the Copperbelt province which has the second highest number of road traffic offences in Zambia after Lusaka.

The court has powers to sentence offenders to weekend jail sentences which allows convicted motorists to work and carry out other activities during the week and then serve their sentences over weekends.

STAR AFRICA