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Traffic Act requires amendments to enable officers work well - Kombe
2008-02-18 09:04:34
By Patrick Kisembo
The Chief Traffic Police, James Kombe has said the Road Traffic Act needs to be ammended to enable traffic police officers do their work in accordance with the changing global world.
Traffic regulations are governed by the Road Traffic Act of 1973.
``The government needs to ensue that the Road Traffic Act is reworked on. We still use the 1973 law which needs amendments. This has been a challenge to us,`` he said while talking to `The Guardian` over the week end in Dar es Salaam.
Commander Kombe was responding to a question on the current road safety situation in the country.
He stressed that the amendment of the law was not the only challenge police officers were facing, adding that there were ``so many drivers who do not want to follow road safety rules and regulation.``
``Such drivers are a headache to the traffic department,`` said Kombe.
The Traffic Police Department had been facing many problems since its establishment, he said adding that the said problems had led to the increase of road accidents in the country.
``Our plan is for some regions to implement a Safiri Salama programme to ensure safety and security of passengers,`` he said.
The Traffic Chief said the soon to be launched programme was a sustainable one, adding that they would prepare some brochures for driver`s use to be placed in their vehicles.
``We will attach some of the brochures on various public places to notify the people to take actions that will facilitate their safety in their travels by calling the Regional Police Commander`s office or to the Chief Traffic Police Officer,`` he said.
The traffic chief however said currently road safety issues were going on well as compared to some few months ago where public complaints about roads and accidents were rife.
``We are making progress and the communities are giving us support. We encourage all the people to give us information without hesitation in case something goes wrong,`` he said.
He said the government was working on other problems involving technical facilities that the traffic police department was facing.
Kombe however said the police force had acquired ten radar to be used in monitoring road safety in ten regions to start with.
``We will first install the monitoring system in Mbeya Region,`` said Kombe.
The Mbeya Regional Police Commander, Suleiman Kova recently said Mbeya has established a network involving all police officers and communities to ensure drivers, owners of vehicles and all other people using cars observe road safety rules and regulations.
Kova said he had assigned police to meet people in their communities to educate them on road safety and security issues in the ongoing exercise to control accidents in the region.
``The Traffic department and the police force in general believe that cooperation between the public and the force could assist in dealing with people acting against the law and particularly in the transport sector,`` he said.
He said Mbeya region has started the operation with commuter buses operating in the city and other buses that operate from the municipality to other regions including Dar es Salaam, Sumbawanga, Rukwa, Iringa and Arusha by escorting all vehicles to the regional border.
Traffic police department has been facing a number of problems including lack of working facilities for vehicles inspection and alcoholmeters for drivers` checkups; wrecked vehicles and lack of patrol vehicles.
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