NYAGATARE-The Eastern Province regional police commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police Sam Karemera, has urged motorcycle operators in Nyagatare District to obey traffic rules.

Karemera made the call on Tuesday, while meeting with motorcycle taxi operators in the district.

Karemera told motorcycle taxi operators to respect their profession by fighting against the rogues among them.

According to Police statistics, Nyagatare ranked second to Kigali city with the highest number of motorcycles.

"There are a number of traffic rules like use of helmets. This reduces accidents,” he said.

The motorcycle operators pointed out that private individuals accounted for the highest number of motorcycle riders without helmets.

"It is very rare for a motorcylist in our cooperative to ride without a helmet. But the people who mostly break this traffic rule are farmers and other private individuals who own motorcycles,” claimed one of the operators.

The operators also took time to address the issue of delays in the issuance of driving licences, saying that it ruins their business.

In response, the commissioner in charge of operations at the Rwanda National Police, Emmanuel Butera, explained that the delays normally arise from anomalies in the  registration process.

"It is very true that some of you delay to get your driving licences. This is mainly due to some of you who do not provide all registration details and hence delays the process,” he said.

One of the participants, Apollinaire Karemera, thanked the Police for their exceptional collaboration with motorcycle taxi operators and promised to put into practice in the deliberations of the meeting.

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