If you are involved in a traffic accident, Article 70 (2) of the Zimbabwean Law specifies the duties of the parties involved.
Stop your vehicle immediately
It is a criminal offense not to stop after an accident. Such an offender may be prosecuted and found guilty of a fine or imprisonment for up to one year. The only defense is to prove that you did not know that an accident occurred and it is not an easy thing to do.
If a person is involved in such an accident, check if the person was injured or killed. In addition, if a person has been injured, take care of her. If you do not know the first aid, do not do anything because you can aggravate an injury or cause a new injury for which you will be responsible.
Ask for qualified assistance
The best thing to do in this situation is to seek qualified assistance by calling an ambulance or other emergency service. Do not leave the scene until a police officer allows you, unless you need to seek help for the injured person. You may be fined or imprisoned for up to one year for non-attendance. Call the following numbers in case of emergency:
- Police: 4,995
- Ambulances: 776 404070/0776 404045/336394/336150
- Firefighters: 4 783980/7
If a person is dead, take all reasonable steps to protect the corpse until the police arrive. Do not let anyone, even those claiming to be the family of the deceased, claim or withdraw the body until the police arrive. Otherwise, you may be fined or imprisoned for at least one year or two.
Provide information
It is important to provide the following information to the other party:
- Your name and address
- If you are not the owner of the vehicle, the name and address of the vehicle owner
- The make, number or other vehicle identification information.
- The name of the insurer
The lack of information referred to above may result in a sanction or imprisonment of one or two years.
