I’d like to commend all stakeholders that participated in ensuring that the number of accidents and fatalities was reduced on our roads during the past Easter holidays.
They were out in full force, which makes yours truly to ask one pertinent question: if they could decrease the statistics over the Easter weekend, why can’t they do it on a daily basis? The visibility of traffic officers was unbelievably high and one was surprised to see that we had so many.
Where do they work when it is off-season? Do they really belong here or were they recruited especially for the long weekend? My advice to our government is that it should ensure safety on our roads with high visibility.
So often we see some of our officers with their vehicles along the N4, chatting or sleeping while overloaded vehicles from Mozambique pose a threat to other road users.
They travel further, despite the heavy luggage they are carrying.
Some of them have passed through two or three provinces before entering ours, but they still get away with it. How do they pass so many traffic officers unpunished, or is there corruption between the two parties?
These unroadworthy vehicles are a common sight on our roads.
Despite the traffic law enforcers on our roads, we still have culprits who drive without licences and they all happen to be mature adults.
It makes you wonder what kind of discipline they mete out in their own homes if they outwardly defy the laws of the country.
You still have those who drink and drive and your drivers who enjoy speeding, thus exceeding the speed limit by huge margins.
At the time one thinks of exceeding the speed limit, they never consider that they are not the sole users of the road, but there are many others whose lives are endangered if one transgresses traffic laws.
My appeal goes to all law breakers on our roads to seriously rethink their negative behaviour. Never drink and drive. It’s not about refraining during the festive season, but daily. If all motorists can have respect for the laws governing our roads, then we can drastically reduce accidents.
The last thought I have is directed at traffic laws officers: avoid temptations of bribery on our roads, but rather arrest those perpetrators.
