Road signs on Zambian highways

[Sanni]

Dear Zambia,

In the past three weeks I have driven to Livingstone and the Copperbelt and was astounded at the lack of road signs, especially enroute to the Copperbelt.

The L/stone route is okay once you branch off at the Kafue turn-off (there are road signs all along the way telling you how many kms to go to reach the next town etc). The problem is if you are going to L/stone for the first time and dont have a road map, you wouldnt know that you have to branch off at Kafue. I know some friends of mine from abroad who continued to drive straight on the Kafue road past the turn-off and had to turn back after they asked directions, this after driving for 1 hour the wrong way.

Lusaka to Kitwe, after Kabwe was something else. No signs to tell you which town you are in, until you see an address on a shop building. No sign to tell you that you have reached the Luanshya turn-off (especially when you are coming from Kitwe). No sign to show you which road to take when you are at the turn-off which has a criss-cross of roads. When coming back from Kitwe, we ended up taking the wrong road and started going towards Ndola instead of Lusaka, till we asked for directions. Really confusing and a waste of fuel.

Surely GRZ can put up some road signs on these highways for the benefit of travellers.

My advice to anyone travelling by road to a town they have not been to before, is... Take a MAP!

[Naine]

We equally found ourselves going off to the wrong place when we driving around Malawi. There were no signs indicating where to turn to go to Mzuzu and we drove on till we reached Mzimba then somebody told us to go back up to where we shall find an intersection, 100km back.

Is true, there are not many road signs on our roads though there are signs on the Great North Road going to Mpulungu/Mbala through Kasama and Nakonde through Mpika. Off course these are road signs from the Kaunda era, but they are good to have around.

[Antonio]

Hi everyone,

I agree with the complain on the lack of road signs. I travelled to Luapula province driving some friends and they were all amazed at the fact that I knew my way to Kazembe although there is nothing that could help people know how to get there. If you just rent a car and want to reach Mwata Kazembe's place, surely you'll get lost and might end up in Mpika or elsewhere.
Government should look into that. and also improve the road network.

[Dizo]

Thats all good everybody.

But ever heard of Satnav? Most South African drivers invest in one and, no, you ll never hear about them getting lost, even in Zambia. Can get one in Game Stores. Lets move with the times.

[Donchikubeba]

Dizo, smell the coffee, and get your head out of the clouds SATNAV for what ?
Its like i was arrested for driving at 105 km in a 100 km/hr zone and how was i to know if there was no sign.

[Cranker]

I saw a sign at a bar in town today. It said: "Happy hour 16:30 to 19:00 Hrs everyday." I mean what kind of moronic sign is that? Happy hour? They can't even give a man an extra 30 mins of boozing? Just make it 16:00-19:00hrs. Am I right or am I right?

[Donchikubeba]

Ba Cranker, which bar is that ? thas if i can find it since i dont know every street in lusaka and their are no road signs either , backed up traffic also isnt helping even if you left your office on time 19hrs is too early ?

[Tz]

The Satnavigation gadget where else in Zambia can you get it? I need it.

[Dizo]

Donchi Kubeba,

This is the mentality we fear if your party somehow impossibly manages to ace it this year, we ll move backwards. You are the one who needs to wake up and smell the arabica (coffee).

Satnav is the way to go, it saves fuel and in your case, enables you to chose the shortest path to walk between destinations.

Tz,

These gadgets are allover, there are handheld versions, motor cycle, car, name it. In Z I ve only seen a model in Game, but in SA you ll get the whole galore. The good thing is they don't only work in Z, they come in generic packs such as maps for the whole of Southern Africa.

[Nsilakabona]

Dizo's Game stores SATNAVs can show speed limits, too. A good number of our roads have no names, and most of the few that have names are not recorded on google maps. So a SATNAV in zed really is such a helpful gadget.

[Donchikubeba]

Ba Dizo,
Naunfwa bakalamba, indeed it is an honour to listen at your feet.But wont i look stupid grooping around in my comboni with this SATNAV gadget you are so hell-bent on ? most of the paths i used were last week given away as plots and you wont believe people have already put up wall fences ! am stumped .Where can i buy units for the same sat nav ?

[Dizo]

Nsilakabona,

Spot on.

Donchi,

Lolest!! Indeed it will be a challenge to use in the comboni. But no, am not High and Mighty, we are both at foot level lol!

The gadget I saw in Game was going for about a million kwacha, but I bet could be cheaper downsouth.

[Donchikubeba]

Ba Dizo, pardon my ignorance but what about the fee's etc for the satnav ,will i have to divert my tv subscription and where do i pay for it ?
Natasha mukwayi

[Dizo]

All free ba Donchi. No fees involved once you buy.

[Ba Donchikubeba]

Realy , thanks.

[Foxy Mama]

Pray tell how do the satnavs work if the roads have no names, doesnt the information have to be lodged with the satellite company for the gadget to work, if so who lodged the information???

Please forgive me if i had a blonde moment!!

[Dizo]

Foxy,

Quite a valid question. You d be surprised that our government seems to have been sleeping, for most roads still carry colonial names to this day on satnav. For those without a name the road will still show coz the name is secondary in any case, it's all about knowing where you are relative to other locations.

[Cranker]

Cranker wrote :
> I saw a sign at a bar in town today. It said: "Happy hour 16:30 to
> 19:00 Hrs everyday." I mean what kind of moronic sign is that? Happy
> hour? They can't even give a man an extra 30 mins of boozing? Just make it
> 16:00-19:00hrs. Am I right or am I right?

Donchikubeba wrote :
> Ba Cranker, which bar is that ? thas if i can find it since i dont know
> every street in lusaka and their are no road signs either , backed up
> traffic also isnt helping even if you left your office on time 19hrs is too
> early ?


ba Donchikubeba mudala,
I ask that you please forgive my asininity. I was merely joking.

[Ba Donchikubeba]

Ba cranker, no vundu !

[Tired Zambian]

When you get a response to this, please let us know because I have not seen a single new sign in Lusaka for the past 10 years! All the signs that are there have been vandalised (election posters, minibuses ramming into them etc), no replacements or maintenance have been done. There have been new traffic lights at Kalambo (works had been going on for 2 years) and for the past 2 months,no even 1 sign that lights have been put in place.
So please, please let us know when they listen to your plea as we want to alert them of these too,
I remain,
Tired Zambian