4 - 10 January 2001
Issue No.515
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 4 - 10 January 2001 Issue No.515 |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
The helmet and the belt
FASTEN your seat belt and don't use your mobile phone (hand-free sets are still allowed) and if you're riding a motorcycle be sure to put your helmet on; the year 2001 has started and so has the enforcement of a new traffic law. Jailan Halawi reports that by the dawn of the first day of the year, traffic policemen were all over Cairo, conducting surprise checks to make sure that motorists and motorcycle riders were obeying the rules.
Photo: Sherif Sonbol
The new traffic law, which imposes harsher penalties on traffic offenders, was passed last January. One of its provisions obliges the two occupants of the front seats to fasten safety belts. A one-year grace period was granted so that owners of old vehicles would have time to install belts. Children were also banished from the front seat.
A fine of between LE100 and LE200 is imposed on front seat-riders who fail to buckle up, and licences will be withdrawn if the offence is repeated within six months. The law also makes it obligatory for motorcycle riders to wear helmets.
The law has provided vehicle accessory traders with a great opportunity to raise the prices of seat belts and helmets. The price of the latter has jumped from LE70 to LE220, and from LE6 to LE35 for plastic alternatives. Seat belt prices have soared to LE350, and the cheapest to be had are Chinese-made belts, prices of which have jumped from LE18 to LE45. Needless to say, the deadline has been a busy, if fortuitous, time for car upholsterers who had to cope with a mad dash for seat belt installation during the last days of 2000 (see photo, right).
"A seat belt is essential but why should I pay a fine if the front seat passenger refuses to fasten his or her belt?" asked a taxi-driver.
Another also found the new law unfair. "When I'm driving, I focus my attention on the road. What should I do if the passenger sitting next to me unfastened his seat belt? Would it still be my fault?" he wanted to know.
However, no one can deny that the new regulations are intended to impose a degree of discipline on chaotic conditions on the streets.
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