Officers on the Yaounde-Sombo highway over the weekend checked the state of windscreen wipers and vehicle tyres.

Schools in Cameroon will soon resume for the 2016/2017 academic year, a period that is usually characterised by much travelling. In preparation, teams from the National Gendarmerie were on the Yaounde-Sombo highway in the Centre Region on Saturday, August 20, 2016 to sensitise road users.  

Captain Bayengue Florence headed the unit at Makoda Checkpoint, about 15 km to Boumnyebel from Yaounde. She told Cameroon Tribune that focus was on the state of windscreen wipers, especially as it is rainy season. Vehicles without windscreen wipers were stopped from continuing their journeys, while their owners were obliged to make alternative arrangements to transport passengers till the situation was corrected.

Captain Bayengue explained that the gendarmerie high command took such stringent measures in order to protect innocent passengers, especially as school reopening approaches. She commended some bus companies for their high level of compliance with highway regulations. At Sombo further down the road towards Douala, Lt. Col. Ndongo Ndongo Benjamin supervised the weekend road safety campaign. He explained that emphasis was on checking the state of trucks and buses, especially the tyres. Gendarmes were also on the lookout for cases of overloading, the content of luggage and dangerous parking by broken down vehicles.

Overspeeding had the highest traffic offences, followed by overloading. A good number of motorists refused to admit their errors and instead spent time pleading with no-nonsense gendarmes to have mercy on them. Overall, a growing number of road users now appreciate the need to respect highway regulations, Lt. Col. Ndongo Ndongo noted. He called for more caution from drivers as school reopening approaches, saying gendarmes were on the road to help them save lives.