As Police Week entered its fifty day yesterday, Rwanda National Police (RNP) put much emphasis on road safety mechanisms and aligned its campaigns with much prominence on child protection.
In several radio talk shows, Police dwelt on equipping road users with tips on how to use road safely especially children.
Records from police indicate that in the last five months, ten children died in road accidents that also left 53 other injured.
This year’s Police Week 2016 is being marked under the theme; “Stand up for Child Protection.”
While appearing on City Radio on Wednesday morning, the Commissioner for Traffic and Road Safety department, Commissioner of Police (CP) George Rumanzi spoke at length about the current status of road safety, outlined common traffic offenses and put much emphasis on public’s involvement in ensuring road safety.
“We believe compliance to road traffic laws goes hand-in-hand with effective enforcement mechanism. We also believe that more can be achieved especially in preventing road accidents if everyone took it upon themselves to report any traffic offender,” CP Rumanzi said.
Speaking about safety precautions for students and pupils on school buses, CP Rumanzi said; “Vehicle owners must ensure that their vehicles comply to traffic rules and regulations and well as observe special standards set by Rwanda Utility Regulatory Authority (RURA).”
In a separate radio talk show on Umucyo FM, the Commanding Officer of the Motor vehicle Inspection Directorate, Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Emmanuel Kalinda urged vehicle owners to ensure their cars are in a proper mechanical condition saying that technical problems are among the major causes of road accidents.
“Every vehicle must have a Mechanical Vehicle Inspection certificate and acquired in a proper channel. People should refrain from using fraudulent means to acquire the certificates and putting people’s lives at risk,” Kalinda said.
Between January and May this year, a total of 42,637 vehicles were inspected.
At least 27 people suspected of dealing in fake certificates or attempting to bribe officers to illegally acquire certificates, were also arrested in the same period.
Commercial vehicles are required to undergo an inspection every after six months while private individual cars have to undergo an inspection after 12 month.
“Most road accidents are related to bad driving behaviour — driving recklessly, overspending, driving under the influence of alcohol, faulty mechanical conditions of a vehicle, violating traffic lights, driving while using mobile phones among many others. Drivers of school buses must ensure they have a special license from RURA,” Supt. Jean Marie Ndushabandi, the traffic spokesperson, said.
Similar campaigns were also held in different parts of the country and in schools where students were given road safety tips and joined in painting and establishing zebra crossing in hotspots.
Source:Police urges on road safety