GUEST WRITER
The traffic police have intensified their vigilance against passengers who do not wear seatbelts. People travelling in taxis are the prime targets. Why are people reluctant to wear the belts when it is actually in their own interest?
The traffic police have intensified their vigilance against passengers who do not wear seatbelts. People travelling in taxis are the prime targets. Why are people reluctant to wear the belts when it is actually in their own interest? There are several reasons for this behaviour.
First, it is because the practice is simply alien to their norms. the police and schools have not done enough sensitisation on the matter. And yet not wearing a belt while travelling could mean instant death. The frantic enforcement of the law on seatbelts seems to have started with the death of Francis Ayume, the former Attorney General.
It is reported he was not wearing his seat belt and was thrown out of the vehicle to his death. It is unfortunate the law should be enforced reactively rather than proactively. More than 500 people were recently arrested and fined for not wearing seatbelts but the quality of the belts is not the concern of the Police!
Kampala Police chief Oyo Nyeko on Monday said the duty of the Police was to implement the law and not to set standards. but the law should not be an agent of harassment. Why don’t the police arrest drivers whose vehicles have fake belts if they can impound vehicles in dangerous mechanical condition? Don’t fake belts endanger lives? some ‘belts’ in taxis are actually bag straps while others cannot be buckled.
Secondly, the commuter vans imported into the country are meant to transport goods in Japan. This means they have no provision for seatbelts except in the driver’s cabin.
Because taxi operators must obey the law, they get anything that resembles a belt and fasten it onto the seat frame. But there are two problems with this arrangement. The so-called belt is just a single strap across the waist below the navel! On impact, such a ‘belt’ could be lethal to a passenger’s internal organs. Alternatively the passengers might fly forward with the seats because the belts are not fastened onto the chassis of the vehicle.
The zeal with which the law is being enforced is admirable but there is no harm in the same law being a bit more reasonable. While all the attention is on seat belts nobody is talking about speed governors.
The monster coaches on our highways have one ‘genetic’ problem in common — suicidal speed!
Now Christmas is upon us once again and the stampede for upcountry trips is about to begin. I hope the Police will be equally vigilant on speed governors and also be strict on same-day return journeys on distant routes. Will they? Let us wait and see!
Ends
First, it is because the practice is simply alien to their norms. the police and schools have not done enough sensitisation on the matter. And yet not wearing a belt while travelling could mean instant death. The frantic enforcement of the law on seatbelts seems to have started with the death of Francis Ayume, the former Attorney General.
It is reported he was not wearing his seat belt and was thrown out of the vehicle to his death. It is unfortunate the law should be enforced reactively rather than proactively. More than 500 people were recently arrested and fined for not wearing seatbelts but the quality of the belts is not the concern of the Police!
Kampala Police chief Oyo Nyeko on Monday said the duty of the Police was to implement the law and not to set standards. but the law should not be an agent of harassment. Why don’t the police arrest drivers whose vehicles have fake belts if they can impound vehicles in dangerous mechanical condition? Don’t fake belts endanger lives? some ‘belts’ in taxis are actually bag straps while others cannot be buckled.
Secondly, the commuter vans imported into the country are meant to transport goods in Japan. This means they have no provision for seatbelts except in the driver’s cabin.
Because taxi operators must obey the law, they get anything that resembles a belt and fasten it onto the seat frame. But there are two problems with this arrangement. The so-called belt is just a single strap across the waist below the navel! On impact, such a ‘belt’ could be lethal to a passenger’s internal organs. Alternatively the passengers might fly forward with the seats because the belts are not fastened onto the chassis of the vehicle.
The zeal with which the law is being enforced is admirable but there is no harm in the same law being a bit more reasonable. While all the attention is on seat belts nobody is talking about speed governors.
The monster coaches on our highways have one ‘genetic’ problem in common — suicidal speed!
Now Christmas is upon us once again and the stampede for upcountry trips is about to begin. I hope the Police will be equally vigilant on speed governors and also be strict on same-day return journeys on distant routes. Will they? Let us wait and see!
Ends