Over the past several weeks we’ve been hearing sad and tragic stories of traffic fatalities in the city and especially on the roads to and from Addis and feeder roads in lots of places. One factor which has been clear for some time is speeding is creating traffic chaos like it never has been! Lives, young and old lives, are being lost. The recent accident in which seven mostly young people who were returning to their town Hawassa after a football match in Arba Minch really rocked the very soul of the nation. The case being yet under investigation many believe the probable case might be speeding.
The fact s that all of us talk of rules being broken directives being thrown out the windows and wag our index fingers at the other side. “They are responsible. If they had been stricter in keeping the rules this wouldn’t have happened.” But few of us turn even a single finger at ourselves and we stay warm and comfortable while everyone is out in the cold.
Recently I was in one of these meter taxis and the middle-aged chauffeur was telling me stories of their interactions with the traffic cops. He actually pointed out traffic cops saying things like. That guy is a very nice guy. If you beg him he doesn’t give you the ticket. He lets you go with warnings.” I’m not sure if this traffic guy was doing his job giving unending warnings when he should have been issuing tickets. Then he points at a fairly youngish uniformed lady and tells me, “That one is a ruthless woman. She issues you ticket even for the slightest mistakes. She doesn’t want to hear a single word of what we have to say. She doesn’t like us. We, too, don’t like her.” ‘Of course she doesn’t and of course you don’t!’ Now the previous guy might be thinking of himself as a sort of Good Samaritan who issues ticket to as few people as he can and beef up his CV for a front seat in the afterlife. Well he can deal about his after life the way he chooses. But people whom he was employed to protect form traffic offences want him to do his job. After all the taxes they pay ensure that the dishes stay there as far as he does his job.
Meanwhile the youngish lady might be committed to her job and responsibility and about the afterlife plans she could pursue them elsewhere and not by letting offenders go off that easily. I asked that meter taxi driver haw many tickets he has been issue so far. You know what he did? He just smiled. That double-layered smile bright on the surface and a hell lots of stories beneath. By the time I reached my destination he let my question remain floating in the air as if had never been asked.
But what some people think when it comes to keeping the rues is not only shallow but with no consideration of human life. They think traffic cops should go light and easy of taxi offenders. Why? Because since taxi drivers have to go long distances from one part of the city to the other, and also to ad from different part of the city the whole day the chances of them being involved in traffic accidents are higher than it’s for other drivers. Though I don’t gas far as saying it’s totally illogical and unsubstantiated still I don’t buy such analogy. Given the chaotic traffic in many parts what is needed is concentration and sticking to the rules down to the letter. Also taxi drivers or drivers of other commercial vehicles should be aware when to be on the road and when to rest. Safe is not about nice traffic cops who don’t always issue tickets but smart planning.
Especially during lunch hours and early afternoons you witness empty minibus taxis parked in the inner parts of the city and villages. Are all these guys enjoying their lunches? Well many are probably doing just that, enjoying their well-deserved lunches. But from what we see we can say most are enjoying their khat! There you have it. While the amount of the actual problem caused by those chauffeurs addicted to khat, addicted to the extent of hiding the khat leaves so that traffic cops wouldn’t catch them red-handed. And there are ‘nice and dandy’ traffic cops who refuse to issue tickets for visible and blatant traffic offenses and applauded by the taxi guys.
I’ve a couple of friends who because of the nature of their work do a lot of long range travels to different parts of the country. The places they go to usually having no air strips where even the smallest planes could land they are forced to travel on land. Do they enjoy them? Well, there were times they enjoyed them because of the natural scenery. They enjoy them no more! Really? Really. Of course, as of sometimes back security has become a concern. So they plan their travels meticulously to be on the safe side of things. But their major concern is the way the chauffeurs handle the four-wheel drives of their employers which happen amidst long gaps, the commercial busses which they frequently are forced to use. Their employers while being sympathetic to the ordeals the two face couldn’t help the in any other way other than the concerned looks and the adrenaline-boosting encouragements.
More than a couple of times they have come close to terrible disasters because of the crazy, speeding drivers. Because if one is speeding when the rules are firmly and clearly set that speeding is a major traffic offense the person must have some issues with his mental workings. Going at 80 where the maximum speed is 50 isn’t about smartness but criminally irresponsible and dangerous act. The sad story here is that such drivers are never eager to listen to the cautioning comments of worried or other passengers or others.
“Look, your driving at a very dangerous speed and the road is winding and filled with dangerous curves. Maybe you should go slower for the sake of all the passengers.”
“I know my skills. I’ll go slower when I think it’s the right thing to do.” believe me that, or something that sounds as bland, is ‘the best’ answer you’d get from a lot of them.
Ephrem Endale Contributer
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SUNDAY EDITION 3 MARCH 2024