Road Traffic adamant on fees increase
The Directorate of Road Traffic and Safety Services (DRTSS) Wednesday responded to public outcries by justifying the fee hike for road traffic offences.
This is despite concerns by members of the public that the new fines are exorbitant.
At a press conference held in Lilongwe Wednesday, DRTSS acting Director, Fergus Gondwe, said the fee hike could reduce cases of road accidents
“This would have a psychological effect on would-be offenders, thereby reducing cases of road accidents,” Gondwe said.
He said one of the strategies that DRTSS has lined up is that of adjusting penalties.
“In 2016, 1,112 people were killed from 962 fatal accidents while this year, from January to September, 1,791 people have been killed out of the 694 fatal accidents that occurred,” Gondwe said.
The new penalties and fees would come into effect on November 13 2017.
One of the changes is that anyone caught driving without a drivers’ licence or professional driving permit will be fined up to K100,000 from the current K8,000.
Gondwe said the directorate is aware that many motorists are used to carrying money as they travel to be used for paying small fines imposed on them as they commit offences on the road.
“However, our interest as a nation is not collection of fines but for motorists to voluntarily comply with regulations on the road and not cause or get involved in traffic accidents,” he said.
Gondwe said the directorate believes that the hiked fines would indeed increase compliance levels to road traffic and safety standards; hence, reduce cases of road accidents in the country.
Reacting to sentiments that the hike in penalties would increase cases of corruption, Gondwe took time to outline the anti-corruption strategies that are aimed at dealing with corruption within the directorate and among stakeholders, including traffic police officers.
He talked about the Anti- Corruption Policy, sensitisation of officers, sensitisation of the public on the dangers of indulging in corruption, introduction of toll free line for reporting corruption and bribery, rolling out of electronic enforcement and introduction of bank payment for offences other than spot fines.
Overspeeding, Gondwe said, is one of the major causes of fatal accidents and had a flat rate fee of K5,000 but the amendment has graduated the penalties based on how much one exceeds from the speed limit.
“Realistically, when you overspeed and kill someone, what monetary value would you attach to the life of a lost soul? And compare it with the penalty meted out to a game poacher who kills an elephant and is fined more kwacha like a million or gets imprisoned for 13 years?” Gondwe queried.
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