Tanzania considers stricter traffic laws to address road safety crisis
Witnesses at the scene of the accident at the Somanga area of Kilwa District, Lindi Region. The incident tragically claimed 13 lives and left six others injured. PHOTO | COURTESY
What you need to know:
- The potential implementation of stricter laws aims to deter reckless driving and encourage a culture of road safety awareness.
Dar es Salaam. Finance Minister Mwigulu Nchemba said current traffic laws should be replaced with stricter ones if they are ineffective in reducing road carnage.
Dr Nchemba was speaking in parliament on Thursday, June 13, 2024, when tabling the Sh49.3 trillion budget for the 2024/25 fiscal year.
He said if the current laws are too lenient, the country should reclassify all traffic accident offences from minor traffic cases to serious crimes, noting that if possible, they should be treated as murder cases.
“Honourable Speaker, violation of road traffic laws, even by government drivers, is viewed as inconvenient and sometimes develops animosity when the traffic police remind us about road safety,” he said.
“It is high time the community adopted a zero-tolerance attitude against road accidents. We cannot tolerate any more losing our workforce easily. Traffic officers should show no leniency towards anyone violating the road traffic laws,” added Dr Nchemba.
He disclosed that statistics on motor vehicle accidents indicate a significant danger that requires increased attention from Tanzanians.
“Several Tanzanians do not comply with road traffic laws as they lack driving discipline and disregard important road signs. Consequently, we are losing the workforce to road accidents, often due to negligence,” he said.
Sharing road accident statistics between 2019 and May 2024, Dr Nchemba said 10,093 road accidents were recorded, resulting in 7,639 deaths and 12,663 injuries, noting that some of the victims have been left with permanent disabilities.
Furthermore, he said out of 3,250 accidents caused by private cars, there were 2,090 deaths and 3,177 injuries, whereas 790 accidents caused by buses led to 782 deaths and 2,508 injuries.
According to him, 820 accidents claimed by minibuses caused 777 deaths and 1,810 injuries.
Dr Nchemba said the 93 accidents caused by taxis triggered 97 deaths and 173 injuries, noting that accidents claimed to 326 rented vehicles led to the deaths of 263 people and 302 injuries.
