Have you noticed that the number of traffic accidents on our roads is on the increase?

Drive along any major road in the capital Maseru and you are bound to witness an accident as it happens or if you are a bit late to arrive, you will still be sure to find one or two traffic cops casually attending to an accident scene.

Have you also noticed that in several of these road accidents there is a taxi involved?

In particular the yellow-bellied ones conveniently called the 4+1.

What is mind-boggling is that there are so many traffic accidents on our roads despite the fact that the country only hosts a few thousand cars — probably the smallest fleet in the region.

Hundreds of precious lives have been lost in these accidents every year.

But if you look at it, most if not all of these avoidable traffic accidents are a result of human error.

Why?

Because a lot of the motorists sitting behind the wheels of the cars on Maseru’s roads are not licensed to drive.

Most of these drivers are thoroughly incompetent they are the major reason why there is so much carnage on our roads.

These dangerous motorists have not bothered to obtain drivers’ licences because they use their ATM cards to make their way around the country.

The ATM cards do not make them good drivers as the numerous accidents show, but are adequate to buy the co-operation of our money-hungry traffic cops who are always ready to allow these dangerous drivers on our roads as long as the motorists can cough up a few maloti.

Which means the problem of the high incidence of traffic accidents on our roads will not end until something has been done to exorcise the roads of all uncertified drivers.

But to clean our roads the traffic police department first needs to get rid of all those crooked cops who think taking bribes from traffic offenders is a way of life.

Taking bribes has become so rampant in the traffic police department it has become fashionable.

It’s almost official nowadays as these dodgy cops demand bribes with a straight face as if it’s a right.

Vuvuzela is aware of two motorbike cops based at Pitso Ground police station in Maseru who have made a killing out of traffic offenders, especially taxi operators without papers and unlicensed drivers.

When they are on patrol, these two cops have made it their mission to make money at the expense of law and order.

As things stand, Police Commissioner ’Malejaka  Letooane should do this nation a favour by launching an internal sting operation to rid the police force of vile elements within its ranks.

And Vuvuzela will be willing to provide incriminating evidence on a few cops.

And only when the traffic police department itself is clean can it be able to exorcise the roads that have been invaded by dangerous drivers.

Otherwise these road accidents will finish us all.