TRANSPORT and Logistics Minister Frank Tayali says Zambia needs to start tracking dangerous public service vehicle (PSV) drivers the same way the system tracks criminals, by creating a ‘Driver Behaviour Bureau’ to keep tabs on their conduct before they take more lives.
Speaking in Parliament today, Tayali revealed that government is considering a radical shift in how PSV drivers are licensed and monitored, following repeated deadly accidents including the recent Likili Bus crash caught on video moments before tragedy struck.
Tayali said the footage showed the kind of recklessness that demands more than just police checkpoints as it calls for permanent records of drivers’ past behaviour, especially those entrusted with moving dozens of lives at once.
He stressed that while police enforcement helps, the real battle must be fought through prevention, and that begins with training schools and tighter control on who gets a PSV license.
“What we must also promote is a driver bureau, where we are able to check the behavior and the conduct of some of the people that we are actually having to empower with driver’s licenses,” Tayali said.
The minister explained that without tracking repeat offenders, Zambia will continue losing innocent lives to reckless drivers.
Meanwhile, he further called on passengers to also become watchdogs, saying they should not hesitate to speak out when a driver is endangering lives.
“When you see that somebody’s driving recklessly, you ought to demand that they actually begin to behave themselves… You are better off being late than being the late,” urged Tayali.
By George Musonda
Kalemba August 1, 2025
