Road checks in Benin: police aim to change attitudes rather than multiply penalties

On SRTB’s Grand Angle programme on Sunday, November 1, Police Republican public security director Commissioner Jean-Marie Sèglé outlined the strategy for tackling road offences. Since September 21, checks have focused on traffic lights, helmet use, mobile-phone use and traffic lanes; more than 3,000 vehicles were stopped between September 20 and October 2. Sèglé said the approach combines awareness-raising, checks and penalties, with the goal of getting road users to follow rules because they understand how those rules protect them, rather than out of fear of punishment. The police are educating motorcycle-taxi drivers about the consequences of a crash without a helmet, since officers cannot be stationed at every intersection.