Too many things make our roads a death trap

WE still have vendors selling on the streets especially in between traffic lights.
Traffic laws forbid people from conducting illegal activities on the road and police should be enforcing that.
Those responsible are turning a blind eye to this.
This, along with road safety and the adherence of traffic laws, must become a top priority for the police and the government agencies which deal with them.
We understand that there is a law in the book (against selling on the street) but the police are not doing anything.
Apart from street vending it seems that motorists are defying traffic regulations by driving over the median line which divides city roads.
In some cases, PMV buses are making dangerous U-turns in places where they are not supposed to be turning, and vehicles are being parked at unauthorised locations or even on the pavement.
One area that has lost all credibility of being a city road is the traffic light area at the Waigani/Tokarara junction.
There are so many things going wrong there – you have pedes-trians running between cars to cross, then you have the vendors selling their products and, yes, you have opportunists hanging around ready to pounce on unsuspecting drivers.
Every rule in the traffic book is being broken there.
We have stressed previously that the illegal and dangerous practice of motorists running red lights at intersections has become rampant in Port Moresby.
The main culprits used to be the reckless PMV drivers, but now they have been joined by other senseless motorists who believe it iks easy to break the law and not get caught.
There are no police presence at traffic light locations and no police cameras either.
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 when traffic lights change.
In other countries such as Australia and New Zealand, road safety is of paramount importance and the infringement of traffic laws, including traffic light regulations, draw heavy penalties.
Sadly, that is not the case in Papua New Guinea, especially in NCD, because it appears the authorities don’t really care about road safety.
With the rise in the number of motor vehicles in the capital city 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.
Another thing: What has happened to the introduction of alcohol breath-testing for drivers?
NCD is full of drunken drivers who think they are the king of the road when intoxicated.
They too must be halted in their tracks as they are a menace to society.
The practice of vending in between vehicles at traffic lights must be discouraged or we will have deaths recorded either in a hit-and-run incident or a hold-up gone wrong.
Improvements in traffic law enforcement should be part of an integrated road safety policy to reduce death and injury.