No more use of mobile phones while driving and compulsory use of seat belts’

Gambia, 20 June 2008 -- The Gambia Motor Traffic Act of 1948 has been amended 15 times, the latest was in 1997.The Act has provisions for licensing and registration of motor vehicles and trailers; licensing and registration of drivers; rules of the road governing driving and other offences and general conditions relating to the use of motor vehicles on roads; roads and bridges and legal proceedings and power of the court.

While these measures might be considered useful in improving road safety in the Gambia, the Act however falls short of key provisions governing the use of seat belts and mobile phones during driving. It is common place in the Gambia, thanks to technological development, to see drivers and passengers alike using mobile phones while driving or being driven. Using mobile phone while driving can certainly disrupt drivers’ concentration, which has now been blamed for some of the frequent and unnecessary road crashes in The Gambia.

These were some of the concerns of the national road safety authorities which led to the amendment of the current Motor Traffic Act.

Presenting the bill entitled ‘Motor Traffic Amendment Act’ to the National Assembly on 19 June 2008, the Secretary of State (minister) for the Interior, Hon. Ousman Sonko, informed the Assembly that many people and vehicles, particularly in the urban areas, have been involved in road traffic crashes of serious consequences recently. The main cause of this, the minister noted, was the use of mobile phones or not wearing seat belts.

Hon. Sonko noted that since the laws of the Gambia are ‘completely’ silent on such issues, his Department of State being responsible for public security deemed it necessary to pass such bill in order to protect life and property.

The bill, once assented to by the President, will become law barring the use of mobile phones while driving, except for hand-free phones, and driving without seat belts.

Putting this move into context, it can be argued that the advocacy strategies demonstrated during celebrations of the first and second UN road safety week are beginning to bear fruits.

It can be recalled that during the first road safety week over 1000 young people from across the country made a declaration urging government to put into law a ban on the use of mobile phones and the compulsory use of seat-belts while driving, among others. The same messages were re-echoed during this year’s celebrations when young people again appealed to the national road safety authorities to look into the issues raised in the declaration.

More importantly, the police have begun the process by mounting spot checks on the Banjul- Serekunda Highway reminding drivers to put on their seat belts. This has yielded results as many drivers and passengers occupying front seats in both private and public vehicles can be seen in their seats belts at least on the Banjul –Serekunda Highway and surroundings.

It however remains to be seen how effective this act will be when it becomes law. But what is convincingly clear is that many people in the country have welcomed the move, describing it as a step in the right direction for a small country like the Gambia where interventions are not keeping pace with the magnitude of road calamities.

In a related development, the WHO Country Office in collaboration with the Department of State for Health and Social Welfare and the Gambia Police Force recently conducted training for 25 commercial drivers (from 4-seater vehicles to trucks) in Farafenni town in the North Bank Region. The training covered the main causes of road traffic crashes in the Gambia such as speeding, use of mobile phones, neglect of the Highway Code, drink driving, among others, and discussed possible solutions. Emphasis was made on public sensitization particularly among horse/donkey cart drivers who have been blamed for some of the road crashes in the area. The 115 km tar road stretching from Barra to Laminkoto is now, unnecessarily, claiming lives each year. Recent police report indicates that a total of 48 road traffic crashes occurred in the area alone between July 2007 and July 2008, resulting in deaths and serious injuries.