Somalilandsun – Yesterday a tragedy occurred on the number one highway Hargeisa-Berbera highway eastbound to Berbera in the capital’s east end, which 3 people lost their lives to an automobile accident which is occurring on our streets on a daily basis and that it needs to done about and there should zero tolerance on our roads when traffic violations occurs, and heart goes to the victims families, relatives, friends, associates, colleagues, and to the people of Somaliland, and that my deepest condolences goes out to them. Somaliland should enforces to drivers licenses to all drivers and that the maximum age to obtain is 18 years old and that it must be sufficient the age and that we should not tolerate 12 or 13 year old boys driving cars or minibuses on our streets which is danger to public safety and that they have no experience or the capacity to operate a motor vehicle, and to drive a vehicle it requires drivers licenses and knowledge of the road which unfortunately most of the people in Hargesia and Somaliland don’t have, and that Somaliland should introduce a new way to get a driver’s license to go through tests which are 2 levels which is the written and the road test which requires mandatory driver education course, and that our people are good people and they have the heart of gold but when it comes to the wheel, it is a different story and it is scary and it is arrogance and ignorance behind the wheel. and after 3 days in learning to drive an automatic transmission, why are set for the roads in Hargeisa and Somaliland and the world, which most people think and driving requires weeks and months of practice and years of experience to be a good driver, in Hargeisa the capital city it is stressful drive on our busy streets with people and vhicles increasing on our streets everyday, there is always gridlock and road rage on our roads and that we must change our driving habits and that we should have driver education programs and to tell us about the risk if you don’t follow the rules of the road and that in Somaliland that there have been allot of traffic violations and that traffic violations are the number cause of death on our roads and driving error and if you the rules of the road you won’t be involved in a tragedy or have an appointment with the police.
Many years ago when I came to Somaliland for a summer vacation, I tried talking about this situation but many people especially the elders (guurti) were like don’t talk about this subject in Somaliland and that it will land you in trouble or in danger, and that I will not let people get in my way when were talking about the safety on our roads and that the traffic department should be more competent and should not stop a vehicle for no reason and to take bribes from them and that they should go after offenders who breaking the laws on road, and there the police should have adequate equipment to prevent car crashes from happening and that the police should have speed limits and that they should have radars and that they should be hiding in the woods on our highways to capture any traffic violaters and that speed traps they call in North America and we don’t need to be more like North America the way the way the enforce traffic laws and that drinking and driving in North America carries a hefty penalty and it is the same as second degree. Somaliland should have Driving awareness campaigns allover the country and that the government should put cameras allover Hargeisa to catch traffic violeters and that we are living in world of techonology and that people capture stuff on the camera and they put on you tube and it becomes a hit and that the police do investigate and they go after the offender. Somaliland should make drivers license very, very tough in order to prevent tragedies like this from happening and that there are many people in the city of Hargeisa who are talking about the accident which a water tanker truck with a mental bumper bar which looks like a tractor and that very dangerous to the public safety of Somaliland and that all trucks and all buses should have those things removed at once.
Somaliland should have a strict law to get a commercial drivers license and that they should not give it to unexperienced people from the bushes who have no knowledge of driving or any knowledge of motors and that they have to a full passenger drivers for 2 years and that you have to live in the city or urban areas for 5 years in order to have a commercial license and that tests are required both written and the road test, and that in Somaliland we have many irresponsible truck and bus, and taxi drivers and that they have to go through that system. I urge the government to do something about the issue facing our country.
Samatar, Ramadan Karim.
