Drivers becoming ignorant

MANY drivers in Port Moresby are becoming ignorant of road safety and traffic laws.
We still have reckless motorists still running the red lights at traffic light intersections in Port Moresby.
This illegal and dangerous practice has become so widespread in the capital city that no one seems to care about it anymore.
No offense, but the main culprits who run the red lights are PMV and taxi 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.
They know there are 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.
That doesn’t happen in Papua New Guinea, especially in the National Capital District, because we don’t seem to take road safety seriously. As well, the introduction of alcohol breath-testing for drivers should 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.
NCDC has plans to install closed-circuit television cameras (CCTV) at traffic lights and designated bus stops and areas identified as crime spots.
Nothing has happened so far.
Not only that, it will serve as a deterrent to drivers who, because of the lack police visibility on busy roads and intersections, belligerently flout traffic rules every day.
Certain sections of the city roads currently have cameras that were donated by China and used during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) in 2018.
Police and road traffic officers will find that it will make their work easier.
Support should be given to whoever is responsible for enforcing the traffic rules to make the city roads safe.
Developed countries rely on traffic cameras to monitor among other things traffic flow and traffic violations.
The technology can also be useful in recording traffic patterns for future planning of roads and outlets out of the city centre.
The introduction of cameras to monitor traffic movement, starting with the major road routes in Port Moresby, will greatly boost the national programmes promoting road safety.
Unless all different opinions are resolved, road accidents will continue to rise while the technical system already in place sits there collecting dust.
Better to address it now or it becomes another legacy issue.