Barlen Munusami, Road Safety Officer: "The police can only change in her habits"

Road Safety Officer, Bachelor of Police Studies and lecturer in road safety, he provides an uncompromising portrait of our state road, it’s wrong, but also social and economic changes that affect the driver.

> You have to publish a third edition Complete guide the driver, you could title the book The rules of the road?

Not only the department is authorized to publish such a book, I contented myself to present a guide unpretentious and binding me as a specialist road traffic. This updated third edition has become imperative in view of the many changes in our society and their impact on driver behavior. And every year the laws change, new urban and rural mini-cities grow and change the landscape.These are challenges that require increased vigilance for drivers at the wheel.

> How did the idea to write such a book?

It was during a trip to Russia in 2008, where I was among the top brass of the police and African militaries. The General Staff of Russia had chosen to represent the African continent and, at one point, a Russian military asked me to put my knowledge to the scope of Mauritians. Back in Mauritius, I approached the publishers, but the costs of publishing were too expensive. Then I met a graphic designer who offered me all to bear against 10% of revenues. I said banco and its release in November 2009, the book has sold 5,000 copies in the first three months. In June 2010, I updated the book, which sold 12,000 copies, and the third edition, published in July 2011, has sold 4000 copies. I added a card game and a road, with bands, indicating that the driver-player was at fault or not. There are also changes at the illustrations, which are brands of cars sponsors for each edition.

> These sales figures, you say, resemble those of a best-seller ...

Yes, because there a real demand for a book of this quality, which is part of our realities. I read a book that showed the existence of some 53 triangles in Mauritius, while only 39. Another picture shows a sign with a horse while in Mauritius, it rather indicates' Wild Animal Crossing. "What an aberration!

> The public still points the finger at the police for road accidents, the most criticized are those that occur on the crosswalks ...

Who is responsible when a truck loaded cement takes the highway with the overload , passes over a bridge where it is not supposed to happen, or through a side street that does not support its weight? The explanation is simple: it often happens that conveyor load their trucks beyond the block 'load' to avoid making two trips. We know the result. Someone, somewhere, has made this choice and the police as soon as she sees sanctions as an offense, it intervenes only on the consequences of accidents that can be, but it lacks the means to trace the causes , which are decisions made without his knowledge. As for the accidents on pedestrian crossings, it is necessary to separate things: some motorists must slow down as they approach the crosswalks, but pedestrians also have to say that these passages are not treadmills. They can not put your foot on the crosswalk while the vehicle is only a few meters. Realistically, it exposes his life. Who has not seen a person, the mobile glued to his ear, and walking on a zebra crossing? Or works outside of a fence that does not use a gateway? These are scenes that we see almost every day.

> How to combat this behavior, because we feel that your campaigns are struggling to hang? 

Is a matter of culture, always, there is also the view of others. Who thought that one day people would stop smoking in the bus? Police itself alone can not change habits, it is the commitment of parents, teachers, social workers, people who have influence. Sometimes, sad to say, we need a disaster strikes close to a whole family or friends, to become aware of the consequences of an act.They drag this tragedy all their lives and develop automation. We see constantly ask their children or grandchildren to walk right to wear bright clothing at night, waiting for the lights to red. As for the clips on TV, it is unclear if they hang: does the choice of words and images is correct, or is it that they are too violent? Ideally, a testimony given by a victim, or his parents, but they are rare to want to show and we understand. For them, it would revive the drama.

> Too many cars to a narrow island, new neighborhoods, shopping centers that are sprouting, and yet leave the state import thousands of cars ...

It's a fair criticism and recurrent. It is true that there was no urban development planning, which continues, with some exceptions, to centralize business in Port-Louis, and that still thinks the best solution to traffic congestion. In a time, it was thought to carpooling, but would check if the owner did not practice 'taxi brown'? Then there is the problem of coexistence in the same car that was traveling with that? And finally, we must not forget that the car is a status symbol. It remains a fact to which we are powerless, we can not prohibit a young employee to buy his car. I came to the conclusion that each agency is currently addressing the problem without worrying about what is goes further. It lacks a comprehensive plan that incorporates many aspects of our development: the state of our roads, vehicle quality and age, working hours and places, the number of permit holders to drive their age, how to conduct, the construction of buildings and car parks, land use policy, accidents, nature, people involved, among other ...

> At Reunion, there are more cars in Mauritius ...

And less dead! Because there exist many private companies who conduct campaigns on road safety. In Mauritius, only the state does. Awareness is at the national level in Reunion. But there is another gap. The 'Driving School and Instructors' Regulations 1966 is still a law that applies only to cars, no buses, trucks or motorcycles, which explains that some bus companies make their own drivers. This law was never amended and I can say that lacked vision in this time.