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Road traffic law to be reviewed
2008-09-12 10:28:41
By Angel Navuri
The government is revising the Road Traffic Act of 1972 to cover bicycles, motorcycles and tricycles.
Home Affairs Deputy Minister Khamis Kagasheki told \'The Guardian` that the amendments to the Act were in the final process and would be tabled in the next parliament session in November this year.
He said the 1972 Act hadn`t taken into account operators of bicycles, motorcycles and tricycles and their passengers, especially when they were involved in accidents.
He said that the problem was very critical in urban areas where there were large numbers of vehicles.
``Our concern is on the safety of the users of this kind of transport. Currently, there is no law that guides this mode of transport in the country, that is why we want to revise the 1972 traffic Act,`` he said.
``This will help to ensure that safety for these people is guaranteed.``
``The government has taken this into serious account as most motorcycles and bicycles in the country are used for transporting passengers,`` Kagasheki noted.
The minister further said that police officers have not been serious in inspecting motorcycles and bicycles.
According to a recent survey carried-out by `The Guardian`, the country was facing between 30 and 50 bicycle` and motorcycle` related accidents per month.
``The motorcycle is no longer a safe mode of transport in Tanzania. People are scared of buying and using this means of transport at this time when fuel prices are skyrocketing,`` said Richard Mbalase, a secondary school teacher in Dar es Salaam.
He said it has been observed that nearly three-fourths of all bicycle accidents are not reported while about one-fourth of the bicycle-motor vehicle accidents are unreported.
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