28/08/2026
A BEAUTIFUL ROAD SHOULD NOT BECOME A ROAD OF DEATH
My Journey Along the N1–N39 Corridor from Kasumbalesa to Kolwezi
By Tawanda Muzambi
Founder, Goodo Organisation | Commercial Driver Behaviour & Safe System Advocate
I recently travelled along the N1–N39 corridor from Kasumbalesa to Kolwezi, a journey of almost 400 kilometres through one of the Democratic Republic of Congo's important transport corridors.
I must begin with appreciation.
I was genuinely amazed by the quality of the N1–N39 road.
From Kasumbalesa through Lumata, Baya, Lubumbashi, Annexe, Lukuni, Tumbwe, Matanga, Likasi, Luambo, Mulungwishi, Guba, Fungurume, Kisenda and finally Kolwezi, including the many smaller communities in between, I travelled on an impressively smooth road.
Hardly a pothole.
For such a long stretch of road, that is an achievement that deserves recognition.
But unfortunately, the better the road became, the more another problem became painfully obvious to me:
SPEED.
And what I witnessed along the N1–N39 corridor left me deeply concerned.
The Road Is Good. The Safety System Around It Is Not Yet Good Enough.
A smooth road naturally allows vehicles to travel faster. That is precisely why good road infrastructure must be accompanied by good speed management.
Throughout my journey, I witnessed levels of speeding that were frightening.
I witnessed more than three crashes during the journey itself.
But perhaps even more disturbing were the remains of previous crashes.
Wrecked vehicles could be seen along and beside the N1–N39. Around the narrow bridges, the evidence of serious crashes was particularly disturbing. Some vehicles had left the roadway around these structures, and the severity of the damage suggested extremely high-energy impacts.
Kilometre after kilometre, I found myself asking questions.
How many people have already died here?
How many families have received that terrible telephone call?
How many crashes must happen before we recognise that a smooth road alone is not necessarily a safe road?
This is exactly where the principles of the Safe System Approach become important.
Human beings will make mistakes.
A driver will sometimes misjudge a situation. Someone will sometimes travel too fast. Someone will become distracted. Someone will make the wrong decision.
But those mistakes should not automatically result in death.
Our responsibility must therefore be to build a transport system with enough layers of protection that an ordinary human mistake does not become a death sentence.
The N1–N39 Needs Urgent Speed Management
From what I personally observed, I believe authorities should urgently conduct professional road-safety and speed assessments along the entire N1–N39 Kasumbalesa–Kolwezi corridor, particularly through towns, villages, pedestrian areas and around the numerous narrow bridges.
Where engineering assessment supports their use, speed humps and other appropriate traffic-calming measures should be introduced in built-up areas.
Villages and approaches to high-risk locations need highly visible warning systems and appropriate rumble strips or other speed-reduction treatments.
The approaches to narrow bridges particularly concern me.
Drivers need sufficient advance warning that they are approaching these structures, and road design should encourage them to reduce speed before reaching the bridge—not when it is already too late.
This should be supported by visible speed-limit signs, bridge-warning signs, road markings, delineation, reflective devices, lighting where appropriate and effective enforcement.
But infrastructure alone will not solve this problem.
The Overloading I Witnessed Was Horrific
Another issue that shocked me was the manner in which some vehicles were being loaded.
And I am not talking about one particular class of vehicle.
I observed dangerous loading practices across different types of vehicles.
Some of what I saw was difficult to believe.
Overloading is not simply a transport offence. It is a road-safety problem.
When a vehicle carries more weight than it was designed or permitted to carry, its handling characteristics can change. Braking performance, stability, tyres, suspension and vehicle control can all be affected.
Combine that with excessive speed and a narrow bridge, and we are creating conditions where one mistake can have devastating consequences.
We therefore need stronger attention to vehicle loading, roadworthiness and enforcement, accompanied by public education explaining why these requirements exist.
Enforcement should not simply be about punishment.
It should be about preventing the crash before it happens.
Wrecked and Broken-Down Vehicles Cannot Become Part of the N1–N39
There is another issue requiring immediate attention: accident-damaged and broken-down vehicles left along the corridor.
A wreck should not remain beside a national highway indefinitely.
Apart from becoming a visual reminder of tragedy, abandoned or poorly positioned vehicles can themselves become hazards, particularly at night or where visibility is limited.
There should be a coordinated system for rapid recovery and towing of crashed and disabled vehicles, especially where they obstruct the roadway, shoulders, bridge approaches or sight lines.
Government, road authorities, police, towing operators, transport companies and insurers all have a role to play.
To Insurance Companies: The Wreckage Is Data
I particularly want insurance companies operating in the DRC and across this transport corridor to look closely at the N1–N39.
Every overturned truck, destroyed vehicle and bridge crash represents more than a claim.
It represents information.
Where did the crash happen?
What time did it happen?
What type of vehicle was involved?
What was the probable travelling speed?
Was the vehicle overloaded?
Was the location already known for crashes?
Were adequate warning signs present?
Was the bridge appropriately protected?
How many similar claims have originated from the same location?
Insurance companies possess valuable information that, when appropriately anonymised and shared within proper legal and privacy frameworks, could help authorities identify dangerous locations and recurring crash patterns.
Insurance data should not only pay for yesterday's crash. It can help prevent tomorrow's crash.
My Appeal to Government and Road Safety Authorities
What I witnessed should not be interpreted as criticism of the impressive N1–N39 road itself.
In fact, it is precisely because this road is so good that I believe we now have an opportunity to make it equally impressive in safety.
I respectfully call for an urgent, evidence-based N1–N39 Kasumbalesa–Kolwezi Corridor Road Safety Assessment, with particular attention to:
speed management through towns and villages; appropriate traffic calming; rumble strips and advance warnings where engineering assessments support them; narrow-bridge safety; vehicle overloading and roadworthiness; removal of crashed and broken-down vehicles; pedestrian risk; road signs and markings; enforcement; emergency response; and systematic crash-data collection.
Authorities should identify the highest-risk locations along the N1–N39, investigate why crashes repeatedly occur there and intervene before more people are killed or seriously injured.
We should not wait for another wreck before acting.
And to My Fellow Drivers
Government cannot do everything.
Engineers cannot do everything.
Police cannot do everything.
Insurance companies cannot do everything.
We, the drivers, also carry responsibility.
A beautiful road is not permission to drive at a dangerous speed.
A powerful truck is not permission to intimidate other road users.
Reaching your destination thirty minutes earlier means absolutely nothing if somebody does not reach home at all.
Professional driving is not measured by how fast you can make the journey.
It is measured by how safely you manage the risks along that journey.
At Goodo Organisation, we strongly believe that commercial drivers should not merely be described as part of Africa's road-safety problem.
Commercial drivers can become part of the solution.
We travel these roads every day.
We see dangerous bridges.
We see missing signs.
We see near misses.
We see overloaded vehicles.
We see dangerous behaviour.
We often know where the next serious crash is likely to happen before anybody sitting in an office does.
That knowledge must become part of Africa's road-safety intelligence.
A Road Should Connect Communities, Not Leave Families Mourning
I left Kasumbalesa impressed by the N1–N39.
I arrived in Kolwezi impressed by the N1–N39.
But between those two points, I also saw enough to convince me that urgent safety intervention is necessary.
The Democratic Republic of Congo should be proud of infrastructure of this quality.
Now let us protect that investment—and, more importantly, protect the human beings using it.
Let us manage speed.
Let us make towns and villages safer.
Let us address dangerous overloading.
Let us make narrow bridges safer.
Let us remove wrecked and disabled vehicles promptly.
Let us collect and use crash data.
Let government, road authorities, police, insurers, transport companies, communities and drivers work from the same objective:
preventing death and serious injury before the crash occurs.
Because ultimately, the success of the N1–N39 should not only be measured by how smooth its surface is.
It should be measured by how many people travel on it and return home safely.
Tawanda Muzambi
Founder — Goodo Organisation
“Empowering drivers, we save lives.”
