Tanzania ponders tracking system to improve road safety

ARUSHA, Tanzania, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Tanzania plans to install a tracking system to monitor speed and general movement of buses that ply upcountry routes, a senior official said on Sunday.

Gilliard Ngewe, director general of the Surface and Marine Transport Regulatory Authority (Sumatra), said in an interview that plans are underway to review transport schedules to allow upcountry buses to travels within 24 hours.

"But this will be only possible when the new Vehicle Tracking System (VTS) will be installed in the buses," the official said. "We are now reviewing the system to track all long-distance buses operating within the country and from neighboring countries so as to minimize accidents."

According to Ngewe, all buses' owners will be required to install VTS devices in their vehicles.

The new system will be monitoring buses' speed, routes and scheduling for the betterment of the services.

"If the vehicle is moving at a high speed, you will be informed and you can warn the authorities to monitor them to avoid accidents," he said, adding that it will be also an effective monitoring tool for the conduct of drivers and conductors.

The system will also be monitoring and giving alerts if there is any problem with the vehicles, Ngewe said.

Sumatra legal services manager Leticia Mutaki said that under the new Transportation Act, anyone who tampers with the new vehicle tracking system would face stern measures.

"Under the law, bus conductors and drivers are also directed to behave well along the routes by ensuring that they avoid playing videos which are against traffic regulations and ethics," she said.

With the VTS, it will be easier to monitor and track all reckless drivers and those trafficking products or people illegally, Mutaki added.

"The major aim of establishing this system is to improve the transport sector and this will reduce accidents that have been taking hundreds of innocent people in the country," she said. Enditem