Traffic police sets out for digital vehicle inspections

Addressing police officers at a road safety training here yesterday, he said that modern cars have digital equipment and the police must keep pace with the technology.

That is vital to actually ensure that vehicles, especially passenger carriers, are regularly examined to be allowed on the roads, he said, to an audience of vehicle inspectors and heads of traffic units from various regions.

They were being exposed to tailor-made auxiliary road safety training organized by the Arusha Technical College (ATC), the only vocational training institution to operate a computerised vehicle diagnosis laboratory.

ATC specialises in mechanical training, with a vehicle repairing workshops and a driving school. It is seen to far ahead in this field, focusing on the future of motoring, which has inspired the traffic police department to emulate this innovation, the commander maintained.

He was persuaded that the days of relying on the naked eye to determine vehicle roadworthiness are over, thus digital scanning and quick analysis of data on computers, the current advanced technology in automobile inspection must be taken up.

Prof. Musa Chacha, the ATC principal, said their studies assert that more than 70 percent of road accidents countrywide are caused by drivers, asserting that the reason is that most drivers are ignorant of vehicle mechanisms.

“Some drivers do not take warning lights seriously nor recognise abnormal cautioning lights or seek periodic inspections and maintenance of their vehicles,” he stated.

David Mtunguja, the vehicle department head, said the training covered topics like automobile maintenance, modern driving skills and the provision of first aid and rescue services for passenger vehicles.

The college provides specialised traffic training courses including VIP chauffeuring, tour vehicles driving, handling dignitary vehicles, he said, hinting that the college will soon launch an international driving skills course.

DCP Fresser Kashai, the traffic police supervisor, in his remarks, said the digital adaptation programme boils down to reinforcing safety on national roads, reducing incidents of motor vehicle accidents countrywide.