Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Road safety, Burkinabé style

Christmas Eve: 58 reported accidents in Ouagadougou; countless more unreported. New Year’s Eve: at least twice as much.

The latest breakthrough in road safety was the forbidding of people riding on the roof of buses (loosely enforced). However, goats and chickens maintained their roof-riding rights and there’s no restriction as to how high you can pack up a vehicle.


Recently the police tried to enforce a law that already exists: helmets are mandatory for motorcyclists. Riots broke out and that was the end of it.

Pick-up trucks are an efficient way to get people around town: an efficient use of space combined with natural air conditioning.


Need I mention that seat belts are completely out of the question?

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