Crack down on reckless driving

RECKLESS motorists are still running the red lights at traffic light intersections in Port Moresby.
This illegal and dangerous practice has become so rampant in the capital city that no one seems to care about it anymore.
The main culprits used to be the reckless PMV drivers who continue to break just about every rule in the traffic book.
They have now been joined by other senseless motorists who have come to realise that there is nothing to stop them from running the red lights and breaking other traffic rules.
There is no police presence at traffic light locations and there are no cameras to detect them.
As far as these cowboys are concerned, they own the city roads and nobody can stop them and their dangerous habits.
Traffic lights were invented to control the flow of traffic and pedestrians to improve safety and access to roads in large towns and cities.
Sensible motorists drive at speeds that give them time to react if the traffic lights change.
In other countries such as Australia, road safety is of paramount importance and the infringement of traffic laws, including traffic light regulations, draws heavy penalties.
You can face up to 12 months suspension from driving on the first offence and if caught a second time you are likely to lose your driver’s licence.
That doesn’t happen here, especially in NCD, because we don’t seem to take road safety seriously.
It seems that the relevant authorities don’t really care about road safety and the risks that are posed by reckless drivers.
Most of the traffic lights in the nation’s capital are located in Waigani Drive, which is the busiest road in the city.
With the influx of vehicles into NCD over the past few years, traffic jams have become a way of life for motorists with long queues at traffic light intersections that can test a driver’s patience and understanding.
With the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Friday between the police and the National Capital District Commission (NCDC) for the former to monitor the security cameras and those who run the red lights should be identified and charged.
Some 200 CCTV cameras, installed from airport, over Kumul Flyover, Sir John Guise Drive, Waigani Drive, International Convention Centre, Wards Drive to Hilton Hotel in Hohola, Poreporena Freeway to Downtown Port Moresby and Apec House, had remained unused after the Apec meeting.
Along with the CCTV (closed-circuit television) system, it is time also for the introduction of alcohol breath-testing for drivers must not be further delayed.
The nation’s capital is full of drunken drivers who also think they are the kings of the road when they are intoxicated.
They too should be halted in their tracks as they are a menace to our society.
There is another group of reckless drivers who apparently cannot be reined in because of the lack of laws that govern the use of mobile phones while driving a motor vehicle.
Despite much external research that shows that mobile phones distract motorists, PNG has yet to come up with specific laws that stop motorists from using their handsets while driving.
Whoever is responsible for enforcing the traffic rules is obviously sleeping on the job and should wake up to the fact that motorists are continuing to make the city roads unsafe and prone to nasty, even fatal accidents.
Road safety and the adherence of traffic laws should become a top priority for the police and other relevant government agencies.