| | The robber state | | | | Modifier la taille du texte: | A | | | A | | |
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| | Par:- Touria PRAYAG
On 07/01/2011 |
If you are not one of those motorists who have been fined lately for ‘speeding’ in the most unlikely places on our roads, you must be very lucky indeed. And it is not so much the fi ne that hurts. It is rather the feeling that the sole purpose of many speed limits and the associated carefully selected speed traps is to ambush otherwise law-abiding citizens and to rake in millions into state coffers.
When the authorities decided to install fi xed speeding radars and cameras on the dual carriageway M1 at Pailles for Port Louis bound traffic and at Camp Chapelon for traffi c going in the opposite direction, they decided to limit speed to 70 km/h on these stretches of road.
In the fi rst two days, unsurprisingly, thousands of motorists received fines of Rs 2,000 each! Hats off to Mauritius Inc for its sharp entrepreneurial sense! It certainly knows how to make a quick few million bucks by digging deeply and oppressively in the pockets of its own citizens. Two things are noteworthy in this experiment, for that’s what it turned out to be. Firstly, as expected, limiting speed to only 70 km/h on such a vital stretch of the national dual carriageway caused snarling tailbacks and traffic jams at peak times. The road traffic management experts in the responsible government offi ces and the police force were compelled to eat humble pie and to increase the speed limit to 80 km/h. Road safety was patently no longer the paramount consideration and expediency prevailed! The second ‘incident’ is worthy of an entry in the Guinness Book of Records for its sheer dilettantism and inanity. It’s too embarrassing to report, but nonetheless we’ll have a go at it, if you promise not to burst into guffaws – the signage indicating
that a speed limit was in force on the Camp Chapelon stretch was placed after the speed camera!!! You might prefer to think that this was in fact intentional rather than to try to find the explanation in someone’s IQ.
If you persist in thinking that the reason the authorities dig in your pocket is because they have public safety at heart, here is what will make you change your mind: speed limitations are arbitrarily fixed at places defying all logic. On the St. Jean Link Road, which takes you from the exit of Quatre Bornes to join the dual carriageway M1, by the new MCB elliptical building, towards Réduit and Port Louis, there is a speed limit of… 50 km/h! This zone is completely uninhabited, unless the authorities’ concern is the safety of the souls laid to rest in the nearby St. Jean cemetery. Similarly, a few hundred yards further, the speed limit on the slipway into Ebène is 40 km/h.
Predictably, these are favourite spots for the police to ambush motorists for speeding, as they very well know that it is well nigh impossible in a modern motorcar to stay within these speed limits on these roads.
The authorities should rather look into the chaos and total lack of discipline on our roads. Speed alone does not cause accidents. What speed limits are there in countries like Germany where there is a very low accident rate?
weekly@lexpress.mu
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| Siganus K. | | | Revolap: "it goes down to 50kpm for the straight road leading to Valley de Ferney" ——
What you say reminds me that the large newly-built road leading to Blue Bay, which ran across a few kilometres of empty sugar cane fields and which had comfortable hard-surface verges on both sides, had a speed limit of 50 km/h only, for God knows what reason. It was an easy way to make money there. With a good tail wind, one could break the speed limit going downhill on a bicycle without even needing to pedal! Some people got caught twice in the space of half an hour: 2000 rupees going + 2000 rupees coming back. It is true speed control is needed in Mauritius — among other types of road control —, but the speed limits must be realistic first. And, second, the speed should not be checked primarily where it is easy to catch people, but where speeding is dangerous. | | | Dhall Gropoi | | | Gee what a bunch of whiners you all are. Sounds like a secondary school debate attended and presented by some students still in primary school. Since when do Mauritians know what is good for them. When the police do not react to anything, they are criticised. When they do, they are also criticised. Mauritius is a small island and sometimes solutions that work in other countries have to be scaled down to work on our little island. This does not mean that it in unfair or illthought. I praise the police and the government for this initiative. I sincerely hope that this will reduce the death count on our roads and it will help in educating our drivers that they have to take their hoofs off the pedal and remove their heads from their (...). Perhaps then they will be able to read road signs and reduce their speeds. Prevention has to start somewhere. So stop moaning and let it be OR otherwise you might find yourself dead in a ditch on the M1 one day! | | | Mc Adam | | | -@ Garam Massala: Regardless of which stretch of road at St Jean you choose to call “The Link Road to M1” the fact remains that between St Jean Cemetery and Shopright Shopping Centre, and Jumbo and the Game food court ( i.e all within a radius of about a mile or so from St Jean roundabout) pedestrians have practically been “ forced” out of sight by motorists who continue to argue their right for TOP SPEED. Within this radius there are the centres which attract a great deal of human activities, i.e shopping centres. There is still a number of pedestrians, who out of necessity, have to “venture” in this radius to get on with their ordinary life, ( e.g a walk to the shopping centres to benefit from the latest “promotions”). I am sure you would agree that even those who do not use cars should benefit from these commercial promotions. Unfortunately , I know, and you should know, that facilities for pedestrains, including college students who do visit such venues a lot, is practically non-existent. Hence the authorities put speed limits. We pedestrians say that you do not turn a road into a USA style highway by calling it M1 or M2 or whatever. Your link road to M1 is still quite close to residences. Reduced speed limit should apply and be respected. Otherwise your Link Road to your motorway, will continue to remain “our direct passage to the Cemetery”.
| | | chitchat | | | Missier conn tout, I feel compelled to respond to your SLUR on Mrs prayag's character concerning
her opinion about "Unfair Penalty for Speed Driving" which is only beneficial to the coffers of
the government. She appeared to be concerned by the variable speed limit set by road traffic
experts for inhabitated areas, and more importantly asked for better attention to road design,
poor road maintainence, vehicles roadworthiness and drivers behavior. Whether she had had
unfortunately been caught by a speed camera is irrevelevant. Mauritius has no "qualifications" for
Motorways, it's too small, the shortest European Motorway (4.6KM) the A10 is now being built in
Croatia to link the Metkovic border to Bosnia and Herzgovenia and would be granted the pan
Euporean VC status, nevertheless, Your opinion is much appreciated.
| | | Missier conne tout | | | You got it completely wrong Ms Prayag. Speed is the issue and combined with the notorious "grand mari" attitude of mauritian road users, this becomes a lethal concoction. Your article is biaised and you appear to be one of the drivers who has been fined by the cameras. Law enforecement has to be stepped up when conventiional means don't work. So what if the Government is filling its coffers in the process. Mauritians have far too much money anyway. Only in their pathetic little minds exists a society where everything should be free and law enforcement should be laxed so that they can do what they want. Grow up and write like a rational writer, balance all the facts first and start the process of educating rather than misinforming. | | | Garam Masala | | | The St. Jean Link Road is not narrow & is certainly not meant for pdestrians. It is a stretch of road, as its name suggests, meant for joining the dual carriageway M1. I would imagine a greater danger to pedestrians are the motorcades of VIP's zooming past with no regard whatsoever to the safety of the taxpayers who pay for their motorcars, motorcycles, drivers and riders! | | | Mc Adam | | | I take it that all you here are drivers, owners of cars, 4x4 , etc. I am not. I am what you call a PEDESTRIAN. Have you lot ever wondered what life is like for pedestrians by most roads on the island? Now Mrs Prayag says it is IMPOSSIBLE to slow down in her MODERN CAR at the St. Jean by-pass. In fact that road is only slightly wider than a " trottoir" and dark, and highly porous. Imagine pedestrians like myself "trying to SHARE/ Negotiate " this road wirh motorists in so-called modern cars who find it impossible to slow down!!. This road, and most of roads in Mauritius were meant for ox-carts....and that size and numbers of them have not increased greatly over the decades. Now you have filled them with all shapes and sizes of FLYING OBJETS driven by , with all due respect, a vast number of inconsiderate, arrogant and uncontrollable macho drivers. The speed limit should be kept under check, and I think that the Government , as always , is trying to be too modern in using cameras. In fact they should have increased the tax on car imports, and car usage, and also increase the price of petrol, with a view to reduce the number of these killer-machines from our noses. We must learn to use the public transport, the bicycles and… walk. Thank you. | | | Le moricien | | | Well said Alan, Ki sanla pa cone ki ena garde boire et roule. ena meme ki pena license ek zotte roule machine ek en cas ene control routier par la police, zot montre warrant zot sorti. | | | Baltazar Foupamalist | | | "Foupamalism" is part of Mauritian mentality, discipline is still an unknown word to many. In some ways animals are more disciplined than some Mauritians. I have seen troup of goats waiting for green at traffic lights while some impatient Mauritians cross through red. When a dog hears the hooting of a car, it will move aside but pedestrians do not react. In Germany all users of the road have been instructed since their childhood. How long will it take for adult Mauritians to give the good examples to children. | | | chitchat | | | Ploum Ploum you're right Mauritius has no Motorways in respect of the international criterion
you mentioned. In the UK a 2 lanes road separated by a central reservation without a hard shoulder
is a dual carriageway as it perhaps goes through a town as a bypass as an "A" road, say A40, away
from the town it's upgraded A40(M) where it has a hard shoulder and a strong steel barrier in lieu
of the central reservation with a 70Mph speed limit then it could revert to A40 with warning signs
"Reduce your speed now" and for convenience a speed camera. The aforementioned might be the answer
to your puzzle of BLUE (-M) sign 500metres between the roundabout and SSR airport, Does this help? | | | Toronto Boy | | | I think they are detering car users to take this route see we might be more tempted to take GRNW than high way which sucks and the road is more dangerous :(.But it also true that mauritian in general dont knw how to drive properly...the system is faulty i personaaly knw people in 2008 that paid rs 5000 (a suppose driving school)to get a driver licence at caserne and i knw good drivers that refused to pay bribe take the test 10 times.so the whole driver education testing and the road network is bad.But having speed trap is an evil that we must have to keep our driver sanity.just imagine tht had their licence in evelope is roaming freely on the highway. | | | MBCTV | | | In the UK too,traffic police lurks in the bushes,road corners to try and trap /ambush speeding motorists.At the same time one of the heads of traffic police in the UJ described British drivers as barabaric,arrogant and simply irresponsible,as per television documentary focussing on traffic problems/accidents in the UK.Some four thousang people are killed every year in the UK for merely standing by the mototway side waitingwhile for breakdown services.In Australia the state of Victoria used to penalise drivers for any minor infringement,and using the income from fines to replenish its coffers.In Mauritius the problem is one of lobbies seducing ministers to buy their equipments.The speed limit on the M1 was increased after the RDA rubberstamped an order coming from a well known Prince1 | | | Starbright | | | The concept of the speed camera can be dated back to at least 1905. Popular Mechanics reports on a patent for a "Time recording Camera for Trapping Motorists" that enabled the operator to take time-stamped images of a vehicle moving across the start and end points of a measured section of road. The timestamp enabled the speed to be calculated and the photo enabled the identification of the driver.There are number of legal issues which arise as a result depending on the local laws and the precedures used by enforcing bodies..Various legal issues arise from such cameras and the laws involved in how the cameras can be placed and what evidence is necessary to prosecute a driver varies considerably in different lagal systems. | | | RAJ | | | Dubai is densely crowded with vehicles and yet no policeman will ever guide traffic flow, even during peak time. They just stand at strategic points to watch and punish drivers for traffic violations. Only few will dare. Speed limit is controlled by camera BUT with provisions for an additional margin of 10 kph on the authorized limit. They realize that vehicular movement may also vary slightly according road conditions, slopes etc and they do not consequently go crazy for one exceeding limit by 1 or 2 kph. as is the case in Mtius. By the police showing common sense and realism, most drivers consequently abide strictly by the law. When one is booked, the process is done with civility and courteous manners as compared to the rude and "grand mari" attitude of some local policemen. The filthy attitude of some ruthless drivers in Mtius is also deplored. There are exceptions though. One policeman posted every morning and evening opp the Caudan Waterfront is an example of firm policing with good manners and polite attitude. He's been there for years now. Wonder whether such models of good police officers will ever be promoted as compared to the many who lacking basic PR skills and training who still get promoted based on caste, community, political affiliations and what not. If Mtius wants to copy the model of Singapore, better start by behaving as professionals as compared to the current amateur behavior, not to say artisanal approach to development. Good behavior does not require massive infrastructure and investment. | | | Zindegi Eksafar | | | Nearly 8000 drivers - since 6 December 2010 - have been caught by the speed cameras while going beyond 70 km/h between Soreze and Plaine Lauzun via the Camp Chapelon part of M1 motorway.
Fighting speed excess is indeed a very laudable initiative, because many Mauritian drivers drive negligently, speed unnecessarily and take unreasonable risks while on the motorway to change lanes, zigzag their way through and overtake other vehicles. Reckless driving is a danger that we must combat, and quite often this problem includes speed-driving also. However, speed cameras cannot be used just to catch drivers who are not informed properly of temporary speed changes.
However, as from 21 December 2010, the Ministry of Land Transport, Public Infrastructure and Shipping, together with the Traffic Management and Road Safety Unit of the police, decided to increase the speed limit on that part of the motorway to 80 km/h because they saw that 70 km/h was too slow and causing unnecessary traffic congestion up to the Caudan roundabout. Thus, they acknowledged that the speed limit should not have been put at 70 km/h!!!!
Moreover, there is a conspicuous lack of clear road markings and road signs from Reduit down to Caudan. The speed limit varies too fast and catches many drivers unaware. E.g. 1. As at Reduit along the M1, it is 110 km/h, then suddenly at Bagatelle, one roadsign indicates 60 km/h. How can the authorities expect the drivers to suddenly slow down from 110 km/h max. to 60 km/h max when they were not even warned beforehand (according to Road Traffic Act, signposts indicating speed zone 300-400m before new speed limits should be put everywhere there is a change). Then, down to Soreze, it becomes 70, then 80, without proper indication as to new speed zones being created.
Furthermore, up to 2 weeks ago, the M1 along Camp Chapelon up to Bell Village flyover was still "under construction", without any road markings that indicated the 2 and eventually 3 lanes, and parts of the M1 were very dangerous to drive along (esp. with the number of barrels, and construction material dumped here and there). Thus, a "road under construction" cannot be considered to be a motorway, whereby, by definition, drivers should drive at least at 70 km/h, and at least 80 km/h on the fast lane.
Therefore, the decision taken to catch drivers going beyond 70 km/h between 6 - 20 December 2010 was not planned properly and is considered abusive on behalf the authorities. It looks very much like a move to trap drivers and have them pay Rs 2000 contraventions and make millions. Fighting speed-driving should not encourage revenue-driven enforcement for the coffers of the State. Speed-cameras should catch those who are real dangers on our roads (+110 km/h), not those who are doing merely 80 km/h on a motorway that did not even have proper road signs and indications !
The State has indeed become a "robber State"! | | | PLOUM PLOUM- DRIVING ME CRAZY | | | -Strictly speaking, we do not have MOTORWAYS (Check International convention on definition of Motorways). We have DUAL CARRIAGE ROADS. A few years back, I noticed a BIG MOTORWAY SIGN (BLUE) when you enter SSR Airport . Imean after you pass the last Round About and you are within 500 m of the airport ! What was the M- Sign for ? The varying speed limits with a short stretch of roads, is also mind-boggling. Can some one check whether Police Inspectors are allowed to changed Speed limits ( AT THEIR WHIMS) without recourse to the Statute Book. Remember the Speed cameras saga !! | | | chitchat | | | -A very well presented article, whoever introduced speed cameras in Mauritius must have spent some time in the UK to study their profitability rather than road safety. When Speeds cameras appeared in quiet remote residential streets, they were vandalized as in addition to the £60 fine, a points totting-up system was linked to the penalty which got so complicated that solicitors got very busy.
Motorists with 12 points were disqualified for up to 12 months which increased their insurance premium. New drivers have their licence revoked with 6 penalty points within 2 years having to retake a driving text. Last year many counties replaced speed cameras with speed bumps on most
residential streets and busy town centres. Sorry Mrs Prayag, the Mauritian motorists got what they deserve as many are so impatient, indsciplined and discourteous, the penalty is just about right. | | | Vwala | | | -Bien dit Blizard c'est une question de droit, l'abus doit être dénoncé. Madame Prayag le fait merveilleusement. Dommage que certains n'ont toujours rien compris. | | | jincy D'Olo | | | -I have been on highways and freeways ,but I have never seen people driving like Mauritians hoons. Really they would not have a clue about respect for others, the only rule they know is "sauve qui peux"
And when it come to the mechanical limits of a motor vehicle,few would know how to treat a vehicle to its limit. Am not asking everyone to be a mechanic, but simple common sense tells you what a vehicle can perform.
But its yet to be proved that speed camera in Mauritius is only a revenue raiser, after all its a voluntary contribution. Speed and pay | | | Blizard | | | -Did anybody notice that Touria Prayag, Nicholas Rainer and to a lesser extent Deepa Bhookun are all English-speaking? Their approach is not only global but also very rights-based. Gosh what a far cry from the Francophile Club so bent on waffling! | | | Help | | | -Oops! In my rip off series I missed Internet. I guess that one was too big... | | | virgil | | | -I am not an expert in traffic management, but I beleive that the authorities took a number of variables before choosing the M1 Palles- Port Louis and vice versa for installing the speed cameras.First. I will not be able to locate the exact impact points but there have been a number of terrible accidents in the whereabouts of Pailles and Camp Chapelon. Many innocent people lost their lives. I am sure the authorities took this variable into consideration in their decision. Second Mauritian drivers are reckless and MUST be taught some DISCIPLINE. They MUST be COERCED and FORCED to learn to respect speed limits and putting an 80 Km speed limit just after you had been driving at 110 km is a good way to teach reckless drivers to be discliplined. Third. I in the process Government pockets a few millions I fully approve of it because someone , somwhere must PAY for services. Those energy guzzling cars MUST be made to pay if they are driven too fast.
I personally think you missed the point Mrs Prayag. Too bad. | | | Help | | | -It is rip off all the way here: Water, Electricity, Petrol, Insurance, Bank , the list goes on and on. It is so easy to raise money from ordinary and helpless citizens than from the fat cats and always blame conjoncture internationale for siphonning taxpayers money. I wished you had also bugged the MCB for the despicable treatment during its IT mess. Well the deafening silence of the Competition Commission on some of the rip-offs mentioned above is no less worrying. Keep the excellent job Mrs Prayag. | | | Jacques | | | -The government may be a legal robber by its action but at the same time discipline has to be enforced on our roads. The authority has made mistakes about displaying proper warnings on the motorway. Signs should be large enough to attract the attention of drivers. Nevertheless mauritian drivers are 'chauffards'. They don't respect road regulations. I have been driving in Canada, US and Australia and there are much more traffic cameras on highways than here and still people don't complain because almost all drivers respect the speed limit especially in Australia. | | | Garam Masala | | | Well said, madam! if the intention of the state is public road safety, they should warn motoristswhen they enter a zone which is speed camera trapped, like in UK, not lurk in bends and ambush them. If the motorists have been speeding recklessly dangerously, the damage will have been done already. No fine will change that or bring the dead back to life. | | | Revolap | | | You hit the bull's eye Touria ... good writing which shows the complete lack of common sense in certain road traffic "management".
When you leave airport, you have dual carriage ways with speed limit at 90kpm; after the 1st round about it turns to 110kpm; after the 2nd round abound you turn to the new Ferney road, it is down to 80kpm in a completely soul less zone ..then when you reach Riviere des Creole which is the 3rd round about; it goes down to 50kpm for the straight road leading to Valley de Ferney. From 30 Dec ot date, the State has here also carried out a cash collection exercise ...
As Alan has rightly pointed out ... 1+ 2 = 4 | | | Gim Chan Quee Lin | | | En fait les chauffeurs (ou chauffards) mauriciens sont indisciplines. Le radar a Pailles est plus que benefique pour la securite des utilisateurs et habitants de l'endroit. Les chauffeurs qui se sont fait prendre se servent de toutes sortes de pretextes pour se dedouanner. Le fait demeure qu'ils ne savent pas rouler dans les limites de vitesses autorises. Maurice n'est pas l'Allemagne et ne le sera jamais surtout au niveau de la discipline sur route. | | | Satya | | | Go Touria Go! Thank you for bringing some sanity...
1)speed traps is to ambush otherwise law-abiding citizens and to rake in millions into state coffers
2)Speed alone does not cause accidents | | | dan | | | dishonesty at the highest level !!!
somebody said in the eighties "moralite pas rempli ventre" and now the same is asking to address corruption
he is should indeed be proud that his methods has created an incompetent vulture state preying on his own citizens
| | | Alan | | | Smashing article. Right and to the point all way through. I suspect the author is not of Mauritian origin. Otherwise she would have understood that before long 1 + 2 = 4 in Mauritius. | |
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