Follow us on:

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube

Archive - Archive 2004 - July 2013

Drivers urged to respect road regulations |17 May 2005

Drivers urged to respect road regulations

The billboard at the Pointe Larue petrol station

The billboards, six in total, have been made as part of a road safety campaign initiated by a committee set up last year, and will be placed at key areas at petrol stations and car parks on Mahe and Praslin.

The committee was launched by the Insurance Authority and is made up of representatives from Land Transport Division, Police, Seychelles Licensing Authority (SLA), State Assurance Corporation of Seychelles (Sacos) and H. Savy Insurance.

Mr Nicolas Woodcock, a representative from the Insurance Authority, said the idea to start the campaign stemmed from the committee's recommendation arrived at after a series of meetings to address the issue of motorists' adherence to road traffic regulations.

Mr Woodcock explained that over the past year, they have noted an alarming increase in cases of unlawful driving of motor vehicles on the public road, for example people who had been driving either without a valid driving license or a road fund license and even without insurance cover.

According to Land Transport, 8 percent of the motorists holding a driving license did not renew their licenses last year and 11percent did not renew their road fund licenses.
The problem is however less common on La Digue.

The billboards bearing reminders of basic traffic requirements that all motorists should know when using the road, are being put specifically at petrol stations and car parks and not by the side of the main roads so as not to distract drivers, Mr Woodcock explained.

"These are key areas where motorists can park, take time to read, heed the messages on the billboards and think before they drive," he said.

Four of the billboards will be set up on Mahe and two on Praslin.

Besides the one at Pointe Larue, two others will be erected at the Roche Caiman and Beau Vallon petrol stations. Land Transport is yet to identify a location in the South of Mahe to put the fourth billboard.

On Praslin, they will be set up at the Grand Anse and Baie Ste Anne petrol stations.
The committee has invested some R20,000 in the billboards, being made by an English River-based company called Alimos.

The Insurance Authority, the main co-ordinator of the project, was set up 10 years ago under a provision of the Insurance Act of 1995. Its main role is to assess and register on-shore and off-shore insurance companies and supervise their operations in the country.

Mr Woodcock said they are extending their activities under this campaign to further educate people that they should at least have a third party insurance cover before taking a vehicle on the road.

"Besides monitoring the activities of insurance companies, it is also our responsibility to look into the interests of policy holders and the public in general," he added.

 


 

» Back to Archive