Traffic offences vs. enforcement

The past few weeks Addis Ababa has been buzzing with news that the government is finally taking some “measures” against the taxi industry that often makes it next to impossible to drive in parts of the city. Well, it is high time.
Not only are the blue & white creating havoc and danger to driver and pedestrian alike but a young taxi driver may not even be licensed and can skip from a few months as “weyalla” to your unruly taxi driver by simply buying a driver’s license from outlaying towns or even Megenagna itself.
The problem of the roads in Addis that has earned it the dubious distinction of being perhaps one of the most dangerous and frustrating cities to drive in, is not confined to the taxis. Many drivers from all walks of life contribute generously to the traffic chaos. Other factors too aggregate the situation and unfortunately things are getting worse and not better.
Consider, if you will, the lack of traffic law enforcement for instance. Traffic police are static and confined to major intersections as though the only traffic rule that drivers should worry about is the red light. Drivers routinely ignore the stop signs at most of the intersections. These traffic signs do not seem to exist for the drivers or, for that matter, the police. Drivers routinely speed across many intersections confident that even when there is a cop present.
This leads to the question of how many drivers actually know the traffic rules. All the traffic mess we witness every day cannot be only because drivers simply disregard the rules willy-nilly. The student driver who is crawling down the road, straddling the white dotted line in rush-hour traffic, may not know the traffic rules. But do you suppose the driving instructor knows?
If traffic offences and accidents are not confined to intersections, why are the traffic police stuck there? Why are the motorcycles used only to transport the traffic personnel to his assigned post and parked there all day long while traffic is blocked all over town? Is it not possible for some of these expensive and public owned machines to be used to patrol major avenues, to supervise some of the double and triple sparked taxi during rush hour creating bottlenecks every few hundred meters? Or direct drivers to stay in their lanes where there are lanes to be found. What is the point in having lanes marked, if half of the drives are straddling the dotted lines or behave as though they simply don’t exist? It is all about enforcement.
Of course, the other problem is that there are not enough traffic signs and when they do exist they could be hidden under some corner where neither the police nor the driver can notice them. Lately a bunch of very visible “no parking” signs suddenly popped up on parts of Africa Avenue improving the flow of traffic. Proof that it is possible.
Law enforcement may also focus on drivers for government, NGO and diplomatic vehicles who roll at reckless speeds and as though they are exempt from traffic rules. Maybe they should be required to post bumper stickers that read “how am I driving?” with a telephone number to call for comments or complaints. Next to taxi drivers this group is by far the most dangerous drivers on the road, especially in the rural highway. At least the taxis traffic infraction takes place at a much slower speed.
It is good that at last there is concern with the behavior of the taxi driver on the roads of Addis Ababa. It is good that road safety has become the subject of public discourse. This is perhaps an opportune time to debate some of the other factors that are making driving in this city the hell on earth that it is and to reflect on our own conduct as well.