Roundup: Sudan's traffic police introduce new way to reduce Eid accidents

Eid (religious feast) periods constitute a season for deadly traffic accidents in Sudan, which pushed the Sudanese traffic police authorities to initiate the idea of escorting convoys of passenger vehicles to reduce traffic accidents.

Few days ahead of Eid Al-Fitr, which marks the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, the Sudanese traffic police have deployed about 2,230 traffic policemen and over 232 traffic patrols on the national highways backed by an air cover to monitor the traffic movement between the national capital Khartoum and the country's various states.

The idea of the convoy is based on grouping around 30 passenger buses to be escorted by a traffic police patrol, a means that is likely to commit the drivers to abide by a specific speed ranging between 70 km and 80 km per hour, and prevent wrong surpassing which is one of the main causes of accidents on the highways in Sudan.

"We are preparing to begin the process of escorting the passenger vehicles convoys from the center to the states, a routine work that the traffic police carry out to reduce traffic accidents and protect the lives of citizens," Maj. Gen. Khalid Mahdi, Director of Sudan Traffic Police's General Administration, told Xinhua on Sunday.

"We are ready to implement the escorting process which is to begin from the capital Khartoum and continue until the morning of the first day of Eid Al-Fitr, while on the third day of the Eid we will begin the reverse escorting from the States to the capital," he added.

He reiterated success of the escorting experience in reducing the traffic accidents, saying "the experience has achieved a tangible success. Every now and then we assess the experience to overcome the disadvantages to achieve the aspired goal."

"To enhance and develop the experience, this year, and for the first time, we introduced police helicopters to monitor the moving convoys on the highways and make sure that the drivers are committed to the convoys," he said.

Mahdi, meanwhile, warned the drivers against leaving the track of the convoy or violating the rules, saying "we will decisively deal with any violation. Surpassing or leaving the track of the convoy will be regarded as big violations that require deterrent punishments."

Alam Al-Huda Taha, a Sudanese passenger, told Xinhua that "the convoy is a safe way that is likely to reduce the traffic accidents. The convoy's speed is slow, but it has contributed to the reduction of the accidents, which usually take place during Eids."

Adam Abbaker Mohamed, a driver of a passenger bus, for his part, said that "the convoy escorting is a successful means to reduce traffic accidents."

However, he complained about the speed of the convoy, saying "the speed set for the convoy is between 70 to 80 km per hour, but sometimes it drops to about 50 km, which creates a kind of boredom as the journey is so long."

According to police traffic statistics, 12,648 traffic accidents were registered in 2015, with about 46 percent of these accidents attributed to careless driving and about 41 percent to high speed.

Sudan is among the countries of the high death rates in traffic accidents, mainly due to careless driving, crumbling roads or invalidity of some vehicles used in public transportation.

Citizens and drivers complain about poor road conditions, while the ministry of roads and bridges attributes the accidents to overloaded trucks and high speed. Endit