By DELPHINE ZULU –

THE Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) has engaged the Zambia Motor Sport Association (ZMSA) to make the sport safe.
RTSA chief executive officer, Zindaba Soko said there was need to harmonise the guidelines that governed the safe use of public roads, speedways and race courses by motor clubs to promote road safety in motor sport.
Soko said safety in motor sport should be prioritised, especially in the wake of road accidents involving bikers and drifters as witnessed in the recent past.
He said that motor sport should not be a source of road accidents, and called on ZMSA to ensure there was safety before, during and after any event.
“It is on record that early this year, a biker was involved in an accident and, unfortunately, he died and the report we received is that he was not putting on a helmet, and another accident was reported where a drifter hit into a passer-by and that person died on the spot,” Soko said.
In a statement yesterday at the closure of a two-day workshop in Lusaka, Soko said the formulations of the guidelines would harmonise and bring about safety in the manner motor sport was organised in the country.
He said there was need to ensure sufficient guidelines existed to safeguard the safety of the public and the competitors.
Soko said such a document could be part of the solutions that could lead Zambia to achieving a global target of halving road traffic fatalities by 2020.
“With the coming of the Sustainable Development Goals that have replaced the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), we need sustainable action at all levels to reduce road traffic accidents in Zambia,” he said.
The workshop brought together experts in road safety, motor sport and the transport sector with a view to advancing the agenda of making motor sport safer.
Federation Internationale De Motorcyclist Africa president Ray Wilson said his organisation would endeavor to keep the sport safe.