The Zimbabwe Republic Police has started arresting motorists and impounding all vehicles fitted with light bars. The ZRP in Mashonaland has already impounded 30 vehicles after launching an operation targetting motorists whose vehicles are fitted with light bars.
The police said that the latest operation has been launched to rid the country of the scourge of such lights, which are not only illegal but pose a danger to other motorists. According to law enforcement officials, light bars also referred to as bar lights, are responsible for many accidents. Due to their dazzling brightness, the lights end up blinding motorists coming from the opposite direction when driving at night.
The arrests of the motorists and the impounding of vehicles were confirmed by the Police spokesperson for Mashonaland East Inspector Simon Chazovachiyi. Inspector Chazovachiyi told the Herald,
“Bar lights are illegal, those who put them contravene Section 66 of Statutory Instrument 129 of 2015 which states that ‘no person shall drive a vehicle on any road in Zimbabwe which is fitted or affixed with anything that may cause danger to anyone in the vehicle or outside the vehicle.’”
Light Bars are meant to give vehicles better visibility on the highways at night. LED light bars have two unique beam patterns: flood or spot. The spot beam pattern is great for lighting the road for a long distance. The flood pattern illuminates a broader field of view.
However, the use of light bars is illegal in some jurisdictions, like Zimbabwe. In many jurisdictions across the world, LED Light Bars are illegal on public roads as they pose a safety risk to other drivers on the road.-iharare
