Africa-Press – Eswatini. Laxity in enforcing road traffic laws has been described as one of the reasons Eswatini keeps on recording a high number of road traffic accidents.
During the meeting, members of the diplomatic corps said they noted that the country’s traffic laws were lax. One of the diplomats stated that at one point, she thought using a cellphone while driving in Eswatini was allowed. She said as she was travelling along the country’s roads, she would see people texting and placing their phones on their ears while driving. She added that she noted that some of the roads in Eswatini were better compared to those of countries she had been staying in. “I would say Eswatini’s roads are five-star. They do not have the capability of causing much accidents compared to other countries, but people simply do not follow traffic laws and the law enforcers are lax too,” she said.
Another issue that was raised during the discussions was that emaSwati respected South Africa’s traffic laws more. “Once people cross the border gate, they will fasten their seatbelts and further obey speed limits but when they are in Eswatini, they do as they please,” said Dr Fortunate Shabalala.
Lax
Another stakeholder, who weighed in on the same issue, was SA High Commissioner WouterZaayan. He also cited that law enforcers were somehow lax compared to the ones from his home country. “I am also afraid of SA traffic cops,” he said. He went on to commit that the neighbouring country would ensure that they met Eswatini half way in ensuring that the strategy was successful. He highlighted that they also had a road safety strategy, which would make it easier for them to blend the two strategies.
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