Motorcycle accidents claim 26 lives in four months in Juba
By Ngor Arol Garang
June 3, 2010 (TURALEI) — A total of 26 people have died in 123 road accidents which involved motorcycles while 89 people were injured from January to April, this year, say traffic authorities in Southern Sudan.
Traffic police in Juba have in the past warned against reckless driving stressing those found violating traffic rules and regulation would get severe punishments including the withdrawal of their driving license.
“Last month alone has witnessed lots of road accidents mostly on weekends,” said Bol Dak Dau, a traffic police officer. “We had ten vehicles crashed at different location over last weekends, 3 at around Nyakuron culture center,2 at Malakia, 5 at different locations on the road leading to riverside while 2 and 3 occurred along ministries road on the way to Munuki at different places,” he underlined.
Bol added that road accidents are increasing because of the condition of the road in Juba town. “Because it is paved road, everyone would like to test his/her driving skill by driving very fast without observing the speed limits and as if the road belongs to individuals.”
The majority of the accidents resulted, according to the traffic official, from the reckless driving; defective vehicles and the pressure from passengers on public transport drivers to drop them anywhere without reaching stopping point.
“Every passenger wants to drop out whenever and wherever they feel like regardless of traffic rules and regulations which respects and show adherence to specific pointing up and drops points, he said adding Traffic Police will soon start vehicle inspection beginning mid June,” he said.
“This exercise would continue in order to ensure defective vehicles are phased out,” he said mentioning that inspection centers in Juba as a whole will include Juba town, Konyonyo, Jebel, Munuki, police and traffic police stations, presidential high way and other areas along the ministries.
He said that the upcoming exercise will be applicable to all regardless of political or military status in the government of southern Sudan. All drivers would be required to avail their vehicles in the respective Traffic Police stations.
?The officer further disclosed that his department plans in collaboration with the United Nations mission to conduct another road safety training to most traffic officers monitoring movement of vehicles on the road in the city.
“We held one last year and it was helpful. Most of those trained traffic officers are currently deployed to state capitals and remaining manpower is inadequate to look after Juba,” he said.
He states that the last training was held under the theme: “Accident damages and kills, you should not support speeding. Cyclist must wear helmet”
Meanwhile, a motorcyclist with the registration number NS 2001 who could not be identified was knocked to death while trying to overtake unidentified vehicle along Malakal road at runabout leading to Konyonyo, this morning. ??
In another report from Buluk , a 21-year old young man identified as Clement Lomoro, died on the spot when he fell off motorcycle after colliding with another motorcycle. Some eye witnesses said the victim knocked his head on the road and sustained severe injuries. ??
He was pronounced dead on arrival at the Juba teaching hospital. Another accident occurred on Monday when another person identified as Suleiman Surur died after falling off from a moving vehicle. ??
He said Surur was a passenger in a Hiace which has not been identified when he dropped ten kilo meters west of Jebel Kunjur market. He died instantly. He said the two bodies were being preserved at the Juba teaching hospital mortuary. ??
He further said a total of 327 incidents of vehicles robbed off valuables and commercial goods along various roads in the region were recorded between January to April, this year. He however said that the average rate of bus and lorry robbed had dropped from 20 per cent during 2009 to 4 per cent, this year. ??
“The achievement has been due to increased surveillance and police patrols along the roads,” he said. He noted that tight patrols were being conducted along main delivery points connecting commercial activities like Juba –Yei to Uganda and Uganda-Yei to Bahr el Ghazal and vice versa.
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Mabior Ayuen Dengajok
Motorcycle accidents claim 26 lives in four months in Juba
I think there must be needs for upgrading Juba City traffic lights and the rules must be the first priority for the new formed Juba government. The traffics rules must also be added to primary school syllabus and other rural and urban campaigns so the population can have better understanding about the general knowledge of traffics, awareness for traffic. Residences are not to be blame because our young country has been without traffic ever since, cyclists and drivers are not properly trained, but the need money urgently without thinking the consequences they will bear or put to the public.
The toughest law needs to be put in place so every ones will fear, either by cyclists or drivers, once they ignored or abused the land road transport law, heavy fines or sentencing must be impost upon them depending on previous crime they had committed.
Today the South Sudan is not running shortage of computer graduates, electronic or engineers, there are so many graduates each year, if the government is really serious about the issue of road accidents, they must attract the qualified South Sudanese graduate overseas and in neighbouring countries to come and makes money and help speed up the most needed transformation by employing IT expertise to monitor the traffic flows with the help of cameras instalment in various locations within the Juba city rather than employing traffic officers who may be bribe at any time by the cyclists or drivers when they are caught committing an offence.
The drivers and cyclists are a bit rich because they are making money with that kind of business and remember the police officers are not paid properly, so there is chances they may involved themselves in corruption scheme or bribery during the road check.
I bet the Southerners to respect the roles of law, which can bring up our country faster than anything. Let help the government to think in different direction so the development can reach us at any corner of South Sudan, if we don’t stop these crimes of hating our ourselves, corruption and abusing the rules of law, than we are giving government a task to think on how change us. So lets us be good citizens and our government will focus beyond.