|
A
technical committee to oversee the standards of bus bodies would help
reduce accidents on Tanzania’s roads, an expert has said.
The expert says before buses are inspected by the traffic police for
licensing, they should be cleared first by a committee of experts.
Hudson Manyara of Dar Couch Body Builders suggested that the police need
to be assisted by a team of experts in order to curtail cheating by some
dishonest bus owners.
The National Institute of Transport, Traffic Police, the Tanzania Bureau
of Standards (TBS), the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Dar
es Salaam and bus body builders could form a strong advisory team, he
said.
The TBS has set guidelines for body builders, but these have been
violated and the police cannot do much, Manyara said.
Tyres burst frequently because they cannot withstand the weight of heavy
bodies. Light bodies have devastating effects when an accident occurs
and are reduced to debris, Manyara said.
If the committee were to start functioning, it should also pay surprise
visits to garages, to make sure the bodies being manufactured comply
with the set standards, he said.
According to TBS Director Daimon Mwakyembe, the bureau issues guidelines
on the external dimension of a bus, the engine and exhaust system.
TBS also compels bus owners to display such information as tare weight,
the permissible maximum vehicle weight, number of passengers and the
name and address of the owner.
Buses are also required to be provided with fire extinguisher of at
least two kilogrammes and first aid kits which should clearly be
labelled.
TBS also guides on how the bus sides, roof, floor entrance and exit
should be. It also states how seats should be made. All these must be
checked before a bus is licensed to carry passengers.
Manyara said while some requirements can easily be checked by traffic
police, some are so technical that only an expert can verify.
Chedi Wemba of the National Institute of Transport supported Manyara on
the need for a technical team to examine buses before they are allowed
to provide passenger services.
He suggested that the Engineers Registration Board should also be
involved.
Kaimkilwa Mathias also from the National Institute of Transport took
issue with the traffic police, saying they have the power to prevent
accidents but they lack enthusiasm.
Speaking in a telephone interview yesterday, Mathias said a technical
inspection committee was viable but warned the police should not be
underrated as they were trained enough.
He said the only problem was that the police were not working as
‘professionals’. “Vehicle inspectors should be left to work as
professionals,” he suggested.
He said some bus owners were crooks bent on using shortcuts to make
quick money even if it meant sacrificing people’s lives.
Unscrupulous people are modifying lorries into buses. This is very
dangerous because they only change the body but not the system of the
vehicle, he said.
“When a body is modified, the rims, brake systems and the springs also
need to be modified, but this is not done,” he said.
Meanwhile Investigation by this paper has established that TBS’s
laboratory for testing tyres has no equipment.
TBS checks materials used to make the tyres, retread ability, ozone
resistance, temperature ability, workmanship, age of rubber, size and
construction, the tyres’ carrying capacity and speed.
But the bureau lacks equipment and much of the testing is done by visual
assessment, a test which experts say is not effective.
The laboratory to test tyres is Arusha but most of imported tyres are
tested at TBS as the bureau cannot afford to take the samples to Arusha.
Police have doubted the worthiness of imported tyres, saying many
accidents were caused by tyre bursts.
Mwakyembe however, dismisses this allegation outright and contends that
no substandard tyre shall be sold or imported into the country.
Source:
IPP Media
and The Guardian
|
