Motorcyclists should be cautious on the road

Mmegi Editor | Tuesday August 15, 2017 11:31

Some of these machines are used in racing competitions on specially designed roads, but here riders are tempted to race on the same roads as other motorists and the riders are reckless.

Whilst driving on a national road is regulated by road signs, markings, and speed limits, motorcyclists seem to disregard and ignore road signs in pursuit of the pleasure that comes with a speeding motorcycle.

Often, other motorists are treated to a shock caused by a speeding motorcycle going the same direction or opposite. The noise coming from the huge exhaust pipes of these machines can send panic to a motorist who would have checked his mirror 30 seconds earlier, but finding nothing in the rear.

It is a fact that the Department of Road Transport and Safety has identified speeding, fatigue and drunken driving, as the major causes of road accidents in the country and the statistics are shocking.

Since January this year, the police have recorded over 1,000 accidents, with more than 150 fatalities. This number is huge when compared with our small population, which is struggling to grow.

While we are not trying to blame motorcyclists for the high number of road fatalities, we urge them to play their role in ensuring that our roads are safe for all by obeying speed limits prescribed for our roads.

We all appreciate that many of our roads are below standard, and not in a good state and too congested to afford speed fanatics to perform any kind of stunts that put other people’s lives at risk.

The police also seem to enjoy the entertainment that is the sight of speeding motorcyclists and they are hardly slapped with tickets as compared to other road users, otherwise they would not be maniacs on our roads.

Most of them drive in convoys and they compete against each other, something, which definitely puts their lives and those of other motorists at risk.

There is no country in the world where motorcyclists are allowed to disobey road traffic regulations and we once again appeal to our youth to obey road signs, obey speed limit and protect lives. We can defeat the evil of road fatalities if we all play our part.

Today’s thought

“Speed has five letters so has Death …. Slow has four letters so has Life” 

 – Unknown