adminDRUNK drivers have become a menace on our roads.
Although not many road traffic accidents have been reported thus far this festive season, the scourge continues unabated.
It’s even worse during the festive season, as people make merry largely centred on alcohol consumption.
A number of motorists drive around with cooler boxes packed with alcohol, which they consume at different spots and then drive home later. The problem is not the drinking, but driving while under the influence. People should have sober designated drivers if they intend drinking heavily. Police have been warning against drink driving, but their calls have not been heeded, and neither have the cops been strict in tackling this scourge.
Too many drunk drivers are loose on our streets, and the question is; does it have to take a major fatal accident for the police to act.
Hordes of people gather at bottle stores and other areas where some drink and to a stupor and still get behind the wheel to drive home, endangering other road users, as their vision and judgment would be impaired at that moment.
Police used to raid and arrest people for public drinking some years ago, but ever since they stopped bothering themselves, drunk driving has now become fashionable. Some drivers now drink openly while driving because they know that they can get away with it.
Just last week, a safe driving awareness drive was held, with police, traffic safety officials and the Government warning motorists against reckless driving and drink driving.
The campaign suggested that police would be out in full force to deal with road traffic offenders, but it’s sad that drunk drivers seem to be in charge of our roads. For as long as drink driving goes unpunished, recklessness on our roads will not end. Police need to pounce on these errant drivers to ensure sanity prevails on our roads.
Because the majority of motorists have gotten away with drink driving, others now even have the courage to drive without licences.
Even unlicensed vehicles flood our roads, with most being used as pirate taxis. Most mushikashikas are unregistered and their drivers unlicensed, but they are winning against the police.
These rogue drivers don’t care about the passengers’ safety/lives.
Surely, we can’t afford to continue putting passengers’ lives at risk when such errant drivers can be easily arrested and prosecuted.
Last week, the police announced that they would be introducing breathalysers at all check points, a move which was welcomed by the public. Passengers’ associations backed the move aimed at reducing road carnages and said the move was long overdue.
While members of the public and passengers’ associations have backed the move to introduce breathalysers, the police need to also step up and act.
Breathalysers at check points alone will only serve to deter drink driving on highways, and not in and around our cities and towns.
More needs to be done to nab drunk drivers in our localities because without curbing drink driving, it will be difficult to enforce other road rules.
We have lost too many lives on our roads due to inaction; just watching recklessness and lawlessness trumping over good. The sad thing is that frustration has creeped into otherwise good motorists, who have now embraced the bad driving traits, causing even more commotion on our roads.
Online Reporter