Traffic madness costs the nation millions

DAR ES SALAAM: THERE seems to be a new national pastime in Tanzania, no, it is not football or Bongo Flava, it is sitting in traffic and watching your productivity evaporate like a puddle in the sun (on the rare days it shines). In Dar es Salaam for instance, traffic jams have grown so monstrous, …

DAR ES SALAAM: THERE seems to be a new national pastime in Tanzania, no, it is not football or Bongo Flava, it is sitting in traffic and watching your productivity evaporate like a puddle in the sun (on the rare days it shines).

In Dar es Salaam for instance, traffic jams have grown so monstrous, they could be mistaken for a new form of natural disaster.

But let us get real: it is not the rain’s fault. It is the madness on our roads, where rules are more like vague suggestions and every driver thinks they are auditioning for “Fast and Furious: Kariakoo Drift.”

Blaming the rains for the chaos is like blaming a teapot for burning your hand-you held it wrong. The real culprits are unruly motorists and bodaboda riders who seem to think road signs are decorative.

They flood into every inch of tarmac, sidewalk, service lane and, if physics allowed, probably even drive vertically up the walls.

Add to this the trailers and trucks parked on service roads, especially at night and you have got a recipe for guaranteed gridlock. Meanwhile, we are haemorrhaging money.

Don’t believe it? Ask the economists. Workers and the business community trapped in traffic every day translates to hours of lost productivity, delayed deliveries, missed opportunities and a nation whose economic engine is idling in neutral.

Convert those wasted hours into shillings and the figures are stomach-churning. We are talking millions lost, not because we lack resources, but because we lack order.

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And what is worse? Even ambulances-yes, ambulances can’t get through.

Picture a sick child fighting for life while the driver honks helplessly behind a line of cars boxed in by bodabodas going full ninja mode between bumpers and trucks that might as well have roots in the tarmac. It is not just frustrating, it is deadly.

Now, our Traffic Police must be tough in all this. One would assume that with this level of disorder, we would see a battalion of officers cracking the whip.

Sadly, it often feels like they are as stuck as the rest of us, or worse, indifferent. But this is a call to action. Traffic Police, spare no motorist, especially bodaboda, causing unnecessary traffic jams.

Dar es Salaam and our other growing cities cannot continue like this. We are choking, not just from car fumes, but from the economic asphyxiation caused by daily paralysis on our roads.

We need serious enforcement. No more warnings. No more polite whistles and “please move, sir.”

We need fines, impounds and bans for repeat offenders. Bodabodas weaving into oncoming traffic? Penalise them. Trucks parking on service lanes? Tow them.

Drivers creating five-lane jams on two-lane roads? Hit them where it hurts-their wallets. Because make no mistake, if we don’t act now, the traffic jam won’t just be on the roads, it will be in our economy, our healthcare system, our national progress. Chaos on the roads is not a badge of growth; it’s a symptom of decay.

So, let us clear the way and literally for a better, more productive Tanzania.

Any unruly motorist, especially ever-in-a hurry daladalas, must be shown the reality and that is there are traffic rules for all, or else, we should consider a nationwide campaign to enforce road discipline.