Editor,I wish to respond to an opinion titled “Right-hand drives and beer goggles” The New Times, April, 3, by Oscar Kabatende.Much as I understand Kabatende’s arguments, I beg to differ. I think the proposal to switch to the left-lane traffic system should be considered. At least, let’s do it for our children. Switching lanes in the long-run will benefit the future generation. At the moment, many people end up changing the steering wheel from right to left to! That, to me, is one of the biggest contributors to accidents in Rwanda at the moment.And because of the existing restrictions, we are probably the only country in the region importing cars that were manufactured in 1990s!MarkKimironko Editor,Whatever the case, right-hand drives have to be allowed in; as Rwanda opens up its doors to East Africans, we will have more right-hand driven vehicles on a daily basis from other East African countries, so why not Rwandans? I agree, however, with the author not to change our roads status quo! After all, 80 per cent of countries, worldwide, drive our way! Thanks for provoking this debate though.VicKigali Editor,It is good you pointed this out, Oscar. When I am in Sweden, I drive on the same side as Rwanda, when I am in Uganda and, occasionally, in England, I drive on the left. I have both experiences but would like to assure you the right hand drive is the best (where Rwanda drives presently).Although I would have liked a change to the right hand drive because it is safer to drive as long as we have manual Gear changing cars.Henry ShengeSweden Editor,The importation of right hand cars will definitely cause a hell of traffic. Who wouldn’t, in their right senses, not opt for a cheaper car? However, my main concern is about our fellow east Africans who work here and have the necessary work permits but are constantly inconvenienced by having to cross the border every two weeks to renew whatever documents because their cars have ‘foreign’ registration numbers. It just doesn’t make sense and contradicts our broader policy on issues of integration as a nation.EAC integration is essentially about free movement of labour without hindrances (among many other factors) and yet, here we go, making it difficult for fellow east Africans who work in our country and contribute to the economy. Previously, they were required to renew their documents once every three months. That was fair enough, but I don’t understand why the frequency was, all of a sudden, increased, instead of reducing it! Otherwise our lanes shouldn’t change...our EAC brothers and sisters should be the ones to adapt to our road system while in Rwanda.Concerned Rwandan Kigali
