Its entry has been challenged repeatedly. Guests of "Talk of The Town" on Wednesday were: Inspector Goinsamy Veerasamy of the Traffic Branch, Aukhez Jaisingh, Senior Engineer at the Traffic Management Road Safety Unit, Manoj Rajkumar, secretary of the Association of Car Monitors Schools and George Ah Yan, the Forum of Free Citizens.
> Is that all drivers have recovered their Counterpart Driving Licence (DLC) in Mauritius?
Inspector Goinsamy Veerasamy: In our database, we have about 650,000 permits. To date, 395,000 people have already taken their DLC. There was a great time and information gathering was even extended campaign. However, the law states that copies can be made, but they must be according to the actual size of the permit and the DLC. The DLC is at home, to be subsequently produced in court. As and when the driver gets points, it should work with an updated copy.
> What will happen from Friday?
Inspector Goinsamy Veerasamy: If a police officer stops a vehicle, and the driver can not produce the DLC and its license or one of the two, he incurs a penalty.
> Is there an IT department at the Traffic Branch to manage penalties arrive?
Inspector Goinsamy Veerasamy: Since last November, we set up a computer system. We have links to all courses in Mauritius and offices prosécuteurs. Our system is very sophisticated and all our information is well guarded.
> Are you ready for the commencement of penalty points?
Aukhez Jaisingh: After several delays, we are ready.
> Are you satisfied with the changes and modifications made to the penalty points?
Georges Ah Yan: We are for penalty points, as this will have a positive impact on the behavior of drivers. We had a series of campaigns, about thirty meetings. The Permanent Secretary said that there are some changes, and others will come in due time. If we want people to adhere to it, we have to put penalty points on driver behavior and not on the mechanics.
> Are you ready to give this new training for future drivers?
Manoj Rajkumar: The work of the monitor is to train drivers on all aspects of road safety. We fully agree with the penalty points. It has been proven elsewhere, but we are against the way it was introduced to us.
> How was it done?
Manoj Rajkumar: The penalty points was first introduced in Germany. The idea was to inculcate good behavior on the road and not come up with sanctions. We believe that the measures taken will reduce accidents on the contrary, the penalty points causes more stress on drivers who are already with the road infrastructure. These cause more accidents.
> What kind of education did you take?
Manoj Rajkumar: We know that if a person is stressed for five minutes, it will have an aggressive behavior throughout the day. The penalty points is a very good tool, but the way it was introduced is not good. This was done without consultation with stakeholders. To date, no monitor and no association monitors attended
> Does the Traffic Management will come forward with a new marking system?
Aukhez Jaisingh: We did a 'survey' of all bus stops and had some concerns. Our officers have discovered that there are some places where the permissive lines can be made for drivers and not to obstruct traffic.
> Is there going to be more effective on the road from Friday?
Inspector Goinsamy Veerasamy: Work will continue as usual. The law applies only to offenders drivers. Because if that person has money, she can pay up to 21 tickets excess. With this enabled, after two excess, you already have 12 points. The next day perhaps you choose to travel by bus. This is the goal we want to achieve.
> The last word ...
Aukhez Jaisingh: The government will soon come with a Drivers Education Centre.
Inspector Goinsamy Veerasamy: This is an opportunity for us to update data.
