The Zambia Road Safety Trust has welcomed the suspension of the Bus Operator license for Kapena Bus Company by the Road Transport and Safety Agency, RTSA.
The license was suspended following the accident, which happened on May 23rd in which 19 people died and 46 others were injured.
In a statement to Breeze FM this morning, Zambia Road Safety Trust communication advisor, Mailos Mwale, says it is pleasing that RTSA has taken a swift and tough action on Kapena Bus Company.
He says the action will act as a deterrent measure to other operators, who are routinely putting the public at risk.
Mr. Mwale says along with this, the trust supports any efforts to improve the effectiveness of the punishments against such operators.
He also advised that frequent road-side inspection checkpoints and random visits at premises, as well as looking for operators and drivers, who are operating illegally, must be done before more lives are lost.
Mr. Mwale also notes that the number of deaths on Zambian roads increased by four per cent from over 2,113 in 2015 to 2,206 in 2016.
He also noted that research has concluded that fleet or company drivers have an increased crash risk compared to privately registered vehicle drivers.