Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE Police Force has banned lorries and in transit vehicles popularly known as IT from carrying passengers, while en-route to their destinations.
Speaking recently at the closure of the Special Road Safety Education Programme in an event attended by nine government primary schools in Dar es Salaam, Traffic Po- lice Commander ACP Wil- broad Mutafungwa said the ban is of immediate effect as inspection of vehicles which do not have road safety stickers continues.
Elaborating on the trucks carrying passengers, he said there has been a tendency for some passenger(s) to board lorries or IT vehicles which contribute to road accident.
“On IT vehicles being transported outside of Tanzania, they are also being prohibited from carrying passengers.
The law only requires them to carry only one passenger and not otherwise, and this is also limited to trucks …this is also ap- plicable to vehicles carrying newspapers upcountry.
We will not be joking, their driv- ers and the owners must fol- low the rules of road safety,” pointed out Mutafungwa.
He said if a passenger wants to travel upcountry or outside the country, he/she should go to the Passenger Bus Terminals to get reliable and legal means of transport not luggage carrying trucks or IT vehicles on transit to other neighbouring countries,” he added.
In a related development, Commander Mutafungwa said containers or luggage being ferried by trailers or Lorries must be properly fastened to avoid slips and endangering lives of other motorists on highways.
He said today his officers would meet with teamsters at Dar es Salaam Port to dis- cuss that matter and reminding them on their obligations, especially to comply with the road safety rules.
Speaking on the road safety programme organised by the Police Force Road Safety Corps in collaboration with Amend, Commander Mutafungwa said the enlightenment is a continuation of imparting road safety education to the public. Gracing the occasion, Temeke District Commissioner, Jokate Mwegelo, apart from thanking Amend for provid- ing the road safety training to primary school pupils, she said the issue of road safety is a responsibility of every citizen and all are required to follow the law unconditionally.
According to the Police figures in 2021, some 1245 people died and another 2,023 were injured in road accidents.
Out of the figures, 56 students died due to road accidents and 65 were injured.
She asked the police force to look into ways of ensuring that students were not staying long in bus stations.
She called upon the Tan- zania Roads Agency (TAN-ROADS) and the Rural Roads Agency (TARURA) to ensure that roads were safe for all users and emphasized the importance of placing road signs in Zebra Crossings in school areas.
Earlier, Amend Tanzania Director Simon Kalolo, speaking on the Children’s Court programme, said the aim was to continue delivering road safety education to the Tanzanian community and providing the training in various schools in the country.
He said research shows that in urban and developing countries, more than 3 per cent of children are injured in road accidents every year, stressing that their organisa- tion will continue to work with other stakeholders to deliver road safety education for Tanzanian
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