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Paltry 2,000 drivers have attended formal training
2007-08-18 09:45:33
By Dominic Nkolimwa
Only 2000 drivers in the country have attended compulsory driving course at the government recommended National Institute of Transport (NIT), the police force has disclosed.
In an exclusive interview with The Guardian, the Traffic Police Chief, James Kombe said most of the drivers were unqualified, a situation that account for frequent road accidents.
`The ongoing vehicle inspection exercise and the subsequent elimination of unqualified drivers would go deeper than what one could imagine to make sure road safety measures were adequately adhered to,` he said.
The commander said that it is difficult to know accurately the number of drivers in the country since a good number of them have fake licences.
`I can`t estimate the number of drivers in the country, but our records indicate that 2,000 drivers have attended NIT courses,` he said.
Ironically, the number of drivers for government owned vehicles only exceed 2,000, which implies that the majority secured jobs without having their qualifications properly scrutinised.
In the course of the ongoing exercise, hundreds of forged drivers’ licenses have been impounded as well as thousands of defective vehicles across the regions that put people’s lives at risk.
`The inspection exercise will not be limited to daladala and up-country drivers alone, but to all motor vehicle operators. We have temporarily suspended issuance of driving licenses to get rid of counterfeits; before issuing new ones under closely monitored system,` commander Kombe explained.
He gave an example of shocking revelation from Dar es Salaam, Iringa and Kilimanjaro regions where the police have been able to identify hundreds of forged documents previously displayed by drivers masquerading as genuine documents.
However, Kombe observed that the best way forward in addressing the problem of road accidents does not end with being in possession of a genuine driving license, but rather a change in attitude among the drivers.
Commenting on recent directives issued by his office about installation of emergency doors on all passenger buses, the police chief said the two-month grace has been allowed after which there would be no room for excuses.
He recalled that innocent passengers were unable to escape injuries or fatalities for lack of emergency doors.
`Tanzania Bureau of Standards, TBS, regulations provide that all public service vehicles must have rear emergency exits in compliance with the recommended values certified in 1999,` Kombe concluded.
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