Africa-Press – South-Sudan. The traffic police in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State are conducting an operation to confiscate vehicles and motorbikes mounted with laser lights which they say blind other road users and cause accidents.
According to statistics from the Northern Bahr el Ghazal State Traffic Police Department, more than 20 traffic-related accidents resulting in four deaths, and several injuries have been recorded in January alone.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday, the Director General of the Traffic Police in the state, Major General Nhial Nhial, said the ongoing operation is aimed at reducing accidents and crime caused by using laser lights. He confirmed that some motorists with laser lights were briefly apprehended and freed after their lights were verified.
“Our work is to contain the traffic accidents and if they occur, we will detain who commits the crimes. We are informing the public through the media channels that laser lights are prohibited because their usage is not good and it can cause drivers and motorists to commit many accidents and that is why we are implementing the state governor’s ban on such lights,” he said. “We are warning the general public against using laser lights. Why do they decide to use them yet they affect people’s vision?”
“Many people who use these materials are unknown persons who do not have identification documents and that is the reason we arrest and fine them to deter them,” Gen. Nhial added.
Meanwhile, Diing Diing, a motorist in Aweil town, said that he does not use the banned lights and will advise his colleagues to follow suit.
“I have never bought a laser light because it causes accidents and I will inform my colleagues to avoid such things,” he said.
For his part, Peter Diing Ngong, the Executive Director of the Wider Aid and Development Agency (WADA), a local civil society organization, welcomed the banning of laser light across the state.
“We are supporting the banning of the laser lights by the traffic police because it causes more accidents on the roads,” he said. “We recorded a high number of accidents, including deaths related to traffic accidents, in the state in December 2023 and January 2024.”
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