'Arrive Alive' or 'Be Road Smart' Traffic Campaings

Zambia is one of many countries in the world running national campaigns on road safety. The Zambian concept is 'Be Road Smart.' A lot of other countries too have a programme called 'Arrive Alive' aimed at sensitizing members of the public particularly drivers or motorists to be alert and cautious of their every action before driving (taking alcohol) or once on the road (using hand held mobile phones), to avoid accidents and improve safety on the roads for all road users. I visited the South Africa 'Arrive Alive' website and  it was gratifying to find an article entitled 'Corruption, Traffic Enforcement and Road Safety' recognising traffic corruption as a factor that contributes not only to making our roads unsafe but also as a detriment to national road infrastructure development. I believe this is a know factor across many jurisdiction and it just requires persistent and unwavering commitment at national level if traffic corruption is to be curtailed. The article makes good reading and you can follow this link to access it: http://www.arrivealive.co.za/pages.aspx?i=2811.

Who Should be on Board- Fighting Traffic Corruption

There are a number of stakeholders that can be associated with the problem of police traffic corruption as well as with the target group. The identification and selection of the stakeholder below has been based on the direct impact the stakeholder has on the problem and on the target community of motorists.

i) Public Transport Operators: These are the owners of the buses or taxis and are represented by the Public Transporters Association (PTA). Public transport vehicles in Zambia are owned and operated by individuals or businesses. This association has mainly been seen as one that coordinates activities of the industry from the private sector point of view. The association, together with the line government ministry, is involved in setting up bus fares on various routes, as well as resolving problems that may arise in the industry. Further operators or their representatives are often called upon by traffic police officers to resolve, pay the fines or coerced into paying bribes when their driver has been arrested for contravening traffic regulations. The Association is therefore cardinal in the fight against traffic corruption.
ii) Drivers: The drivers are the main contact between the traffic officers and the public transport operators. This is the group that is often in confrontation with the traffic officers because of constantly breaking the traffic regulations. While drivers are seen to be adversaries to traffic officers because of their frequent attempts to elude the traffic police when they contravene traffic regulations, their behaviour justifies police action against them and in the process they do not even hesitate to offer or give bribes demanded by the traffic officers.

iii) The Traffic Police Officers and the Zambia Police Service Command: The traffic police officers are the main culprits of traffic corruption. They demand bribes from motorists at any opportunity or create situations that put motorists in a desperate position to offer a bribe. Law enforcement is so weak. The law is used to defraud the motorists. The is known by Zambia Police Service Command but it appears the situation is being condoned for some reasons as there are no vigorous efforts to address the problem from within. The establishment of an Integrity Committee in the police service therefore provides an opportunity to institutionalise corruption prevention mechanisms.

iv) The Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA): This is the institution that is entrusted with the responsibility to regulate the road transport sector and thus enforce traffic. It regulates the operations of the public transport system and any other motor vehicle through licensing. In conjunction with the traffic police section, the Agency enforces the traffic laws to ensure safety on roads. Most traffic police officers are seconded to the agency for operational expediency. The existence of traffic corruption cannot guarantee safe raods.

v) Commuters: The travelling public are represented by an association for the Commuters which ensures that public transport operator  do not take advantage of commuters by setting fares that are economically unrealistic and that passenger rights are upheld. It has been said that commuters occasionally encourage bus drivers to quickly bribe traffic police officers so that they are not delayed.

vi) The Anti-Corruption Commission and The Government: It is the role of the Anti-Corruption Commission on behalf of the Government to address corruption in its various forms in order to create an environment conducive for development in the Country. Government is therefore expected to provide operational funding to the ACC for its various anti-corruption activities. The ACC is therefore interested in ensuring that programs aimed at tackling the systemic corruption in the country are designed and implemented, with the support of Government and all stakeholders, and traffic corruption is one such vice in a sector that needs to be curtailed.

vii) Civil Society and Non Governmental Organisations: Most NGOs or CSOs often have advocacy and campaign programs on governance or transparency and accountability. Transparency International (Z), the Integrity Foundation, and the National Movement Against Corruption, and many other such civil society organisations are key partners in the fight against corruption in Zambia. They speak louder.

T   viii) Media: The role of the media cannot be over emphasises. The media through investigative journalism brings out the wrongs in society and also informs the public on measures put in place in fighting corruption. The media in Zambia has been known to have effectively played its watchdog role. 

Th ivx) Public: By taking up the challenge of whistle-blowing, the public can made a huge difference in fighting corruption through the report they make to the Anti-Corruption Commission.

Plan for Engagement - Fighting Traffic Corruption

Corruption can broadly be defined as the act of giving or offering, receiving or accepting of an advantage or gratification as an inducement or reward in connection with the performance of a duty. It therefore includes abuse of authority of office for personal gain. In this case, traffic corruption occurs in two ways: Firstly, when a traffic officer demands for a bribe from a motorist in relation to an offence committed or alleged to have been committed. The bribe is meant to allow the motorists escape the fine or any such sanctions associated with the offence. Secondly, it may occur when a motorist having committed or alleged to have committed a traffic offence offers a bribe to a traffic officer as an inducement or reward for the officer to allow the motorists escape the fine or sanctions attached to the offence.

The environment in which this act of corruption occurs in Zambia, especially in the city of Lusaka portrays a lack of integrity system for the motorists and traffic officers, a perpetuation of systems that promote disorder and anarchy on the roads and encourages disregard of the law with impunity.

How then can we try to involve the public transport operators and drivers to be part of the fight against traffic corruption. While this may be challenging because of the identified satisfied end for the parties involves, we will take an assumption that public transport operators do not like paying bribes to traffic officers.

As an initial step in the overall picture of the problem, the project will endeavour to fulfil the following proposed measures. 
i) Engage public transport operators and bus drivers through their Associations into seeing the benefits of tackling this vice.
ii) Bring on bold RTSA and Police Service Integrity Committees as partners.
iii) Establish the ‘Forum Against Traffic Corruption’ (FACT) as a platform for discussing ways of tackling the vice.
iv) Lobby funds from among stakeholders for production of car posters and stickers denouncing corruption – These will then be placed on the buses or taxis and distributed to other motorists. (e.g. Be Road Smart - Stop Traffic Corruption)
v) Produce information leaflets on the traffic laws and regulations and how to report traffic corruption
vi) Lobby and engage bus drivers through their association and employers into adherence of traffic laws and regulations and to resist and report cases of traffic corruption.
This is the beginning.

Factors fueling traffic corruption

Am sure most people tend to blame law enforcement officers as perpetrators of traffic corruption. Well indeed this is the demand side. What about the supply side - Motorists. A lot of drivers are guilty of offering bribes for contravening traffic regulations. Imagine if the supply of bribes is curtailed. If all drivers took the responsibility of ensuring that the state of their vehicle is roadworthy and all traffic regulations adhered to, chances are that since they are on the side of the law, they will not tolerate paying a bribe... PAY FOR WHAT?

An examination of traffic corruption in Zambia that takes place between public transport drivers and law enforcement officers show that the fact that public transport drivers constantly break traffic regulations, this fuels traffic corruption. Factors that stimulate traffic corruption with regard to public transport operators include the following:

 i) The taxi and bus drivers are not often the owners of the vehicles. The drivers are given cash targets that have to be met daily. This often makes them be in a rush always to pick and drop customers and in the process a number of traffic regulations are broken due to careless driving.

ii) There is a high number of illegally (corruptly) obtained public transport drivers licences. This means that among the drivers, some of them are not qualified to drive. This further implies that these unqualified drivers do not know the traffic regulations, especially pertaining to public transport operations. 
  

iii) Related to the above, most drivers are not formally educated on the traffic regulations as the training for driving may have been conducted by anybody other than formal driving schools. 

iv) A number of public transport vehicles are often not certified road worthy, insured and not issued with the required transport operator’s permit.  This compromised the integrity of the driver and predisposes the driver to corrupt activities with traffic officers. 

v) When an offence has been committed, the owner of the vehicle is requested to go and resolve the problem. Since the owner of the vehicle and the driver want to have  the vehicle back on the road to make money, and having the vehicle impounded by traffic officers is loss of business, a lot of corruption takes place involving drivers, the owners of the vehicles and traffic officers. Most of this corruption is never reported since there is an implied satisfaction for all parties involved.  

vi)The greed for money exhibited by traffic officers make them go out to find offences even where they do not exist and extort money from often innocent motorists. 

vii) The numerous police check points in the country found at almost every main entry or exit road of a town and along highways and the frequent traffic road blocks or mounted speed traps in the inner routes of towns create opportunities for corruption. While random police checks are necessary, the regular and permanent check points have been viewed by many people as not serving any purpose other than perpetrating corruption.

Traffic Corruption - Tell Your Story

I believe most of us have had an experience of corruption in one form or the other.It may have simply been a request for a favour but with strings attached that we did not mind to do because we too benefited in one way or the other, or indeed it could have been blatant demand for a bribe from a traffic law enforcement officer because we had broken traffic regulations. If not, we may have witnessed or heard about a corrupt act that took place somewhere. Everyone involved often has a very good reason for engaging in corruption, especially so in poor countries. And the reasons range from poverty and poor economic conditions,that is, attempts to meet basic needs such as food, decent shelter, need for money for medication or for sending children to school, etc. Whatever the case might have been and whatever the reasons advanced, does the means justify the end? What is your experience or view about traffic corruption?