Lessons from my encounter with road traffic police chief over seat belts, etc...

It was one of those rainy days in the late 1970s when I walked into the ominous offices at Police Headquarters in the building housing the ministry of Home Affairs along Ohio Street in Dar es Salaam.

I had been assigned by my Editor, the late Abdalla Ngororo of the Daily-cum-Sunday News to report at the office of the Inspector General of Police at 9am. There were no details on the assignment.

I was then a young scribe at the newspaper whose offices along Maktaba Street were not far from the police headquarters.

Braving the rain, I rode my brand new Yamaha Enduro 125cc motorcycle, courtesy of a loan from my employer, to my assignment.

As I walked into the offices, I was gripped with fear as to the nature of the assignment. This was further exacerbated when, on arrival, I was told to report to the office of the Commander of the Road Traffic Police.

Indeed I had, in my many escapades in the city’s streets, violated several road traffic rules. And on top of that I still had no valid driving licence. But: was all that so serious that I had to be summoned to the Commander himself? I wondered.

With a cold sweat running down my back, I meekly knocked at the door of the Commander. And there - surrounded by some three other senior police officers and three civilians - was the Commander himself, De Vaz, with his well-groomed signature moustache and in well-pressed khaki uniform.

“Welcome, young man,” boomed the Commander from across the long conference table.

“I welcome you to the National Road Safety Committee. You are now going to be a member of the Committee, and its Honorary Secretary, as well,” he added.

I was, to say the least, stunned but inwardly relieved - and, subsequently, elated to join such a prestigious group with national responsibilities.

From that day - and for the next three years - my CV became rich, very rich.

To begin with, I easily acquired a driving licence. But, in due course, I learnt some very vital, life-saving lessons.

For example, the statistics collected from around the country and presented before the Committee revealed that more than 70 percent of those who die or suffer serious injuries from car accidents had not fastened their seat belts.

And more than 75 percent of those who die or suffer serious injuries from motorcycle accidents were not donning safety helmets.

And I have to admit that from that time to-date, I am a strict observer of these ‘seat belts and helmets’ rules.

Therefore, it was with a sigh of relief to find a few years ago that the police have been tightening the laws governing mandatory use of seat belts and helmets by motorists and their passengers.

And, it was a welcome idea when the other day I came across young men and women organising awareness-raising workshops in several parts of the country for young motorists on these same matters, as well as on road traffic signs.

I believe this move - as well as the normal educational programmes on same that are run by the Police themselves - will go a long way in reducing unnecessary deaths on our roads.

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The author is a veteran journalist and communications expert based in Arusha