Traffic offenders on notice

Government officials who flout laws have been put on notice. Prime Minister Dr Pierre Damien Habumuremyi wants police to forward their names to his office.He said he was personally keen to know government officials who commit traffic offences and give the government a bad name. Speaking last week, Dr Habumuremyi said, “leaders should be more careful about traffic regulations and to be eager to lead by example.” The call by the Premier adds weight to the campaign to enforce discipline on the roads and cut down on road carnage. It is also part of the wider campaign to improve the quality of service delivered to the public by Government and private institutions in the country. The Traffic Police chief also sent out his own warning to the public, including senior government officials and civil servants, who violate traffic laws and cause chaos on the roads. He said they will face the full wrath of the law. “Making phone calls, texting while driving have resulted in many accidents, deaths and disorder, thereby disorganising traffic flow. The issue of using telephones while driving is one that we are taking seriously, as well as violation of zebra crossings,” Celestin Twahirwa told The New Times.Eugene Balikana, the Director of Cabinet in the Prime Minister’s Office, said in an interview, that the Premier’s call “is in line with holding leaders accountable and to be responsible in respecting traffic rules and curbing the rate of road accidents. “Sometimes leaders are the ones who violate the rules. They drive while talking on phone and don’t wear seat-belts. We agreed that any leader who violates any of the regulations should be penalised and that police give us a report on the progress,” he said.He said the reports will help the government “remind the identified leaders to be exemplary in their behaviour. We believe getting such a list and calling these leaders to remind them of their responsibility, will somehow, affect their credibility.”Balikana said that if a leader is caught twice or more times violating the law, then such a leader deserves medical attention “because they might be sick.”Using a phone while driving attracts a penalty of Rwf10, 000, but Twahirwa warned heavier punishments would be imposed on repeat offenders.“We can even take administrative measures if someone persistently violates the law; we can even suspend someone’s driving license for about three months,” he said.Traffic police officers and members of the public have also raised the issue of safety at zebra crossing, where drivers are required by law to give way to pedestrians crossing roads. Only a few drivers are said to respect the crossings. Some pedestrians having lost their lives while crossing roads at the designated spots.Yesterday, The New Times saw only one out of about 10 cars respecting a zebra-crossing at Kisementi Roundabout, Remera, while no motorcyclist was patient enough to let pedestrians safely cross.“These crossings are as good as not being there; there’s no difference when one crosses through these lines or anywhere else…it’s so crazy, pedestrians have no priority at all,” complained one John Mihigo, who took several minutes waiting for an opportunity to cross as motorists kept speeding past, even as a traffic police officer stood by a few metres away.The stepped up call for traffic discipline comes ahead of a major nationwide customer service campaign, the second in three years.The campaign, to be spearheaded by the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), seeks to improve service delivery in the public and private sectors, a few years after a study by the Institute of Policy Analysis and Research (IPAR) indicated that the country was losing as much as $40 million annually due to poor customer care.Whereas there’s a general decline in accidents in the country, there’s a strong feeling that the number can still be lowered considerably if basic traffic rules were respected. An estimated eight out of 10 accidents last year involved motorcyclists, according to statistics from police. The decision to enforce discipline on the roads is part of a broader strategy to improve safety and cut down on traffic accidents and the costs to the economy. Just last week, Dr Habumuremyi met with thousands of motorcycle operators in Kigali City, where he urged them to observe traffic laws. The high levels of indiscipline on the roads by motorcyclists, most of them youthful, has been subject of heated public debate, sometimes prompting directives by a frustrated Kigali City Mayor, Fidele Ndayisaba, to issue orders which are themselves unlawful; such as the one banning motorcyclists from overtaking – a rule that was unenforceable in the first place.Traffic Police chief, Twahirwa, however, believes that the latest efforts will help improve road safety.“Any statement from higher authority that supports what we are already doing will help us enforce the law,” he said in reference to the Prime Minister’s intervention. “It is clear; people should be reminded that driving while making phone calls or texting messages is a serious violation that must be punished without any lenience,” Twahirwa said. The number of traffic accidents decreased by 16.5 per cent, last year, down from 5336 accidents recorded in 2010.Over 2, 400 people were injured in 2011, resulting in more than 350 deaths, according to police records.

National

Traffic offenders on notice