The operation, running from May 18-23, 2016, follows the recent spate of deadly accidents in the country.
In order to check the rising incidence of fatal road accidents claiming so many lives, the National Gendarmerie has launched a country-wide operation to stem the ugly trend. Col. Ewoudi Ebene Dieudonné from National Gendarmerie headquarters disclosed this to journalists on May 21, 2016, at Zhoa-Toupsi on the outskirts of Mbalmayo in the Centre Region, where he led a team of gendarmes on road safety checks.
He added that gendarmes have now introduced informants in public transport buses to report on the conduct of recalcitrant drivers. Col. Ewoudi said Jean Baptiste Bokam, the Secretary of State for Defence in charge of the National Gendarmerie, issued the directive for the nation-wide road safety campaign sequel to the accident on April 28, 2016, in Mbang I village near Ayos in the Centre Region where 14 people perished. Most of them were roasted to ashes after an inferno engulfed three vehicles involved in the accident. At least two other deadly accidents have since taken place in Moungo Division of the Littoral Region, with 14 people dying on each occasion.
The current campaign running from May 18-23, 2016, is the 65th in the Third Generation of “Operation Surveillance, Check, Sanction.” He said the most recurrent traffic offences were over-speeding, non-use of safety belts, non-possession of vehicle registration certificates, absence of CEMAC number plates and First Aid boxes. In compliance with Jean Baptiste Bokam’s instructions, motorists guilty of over-speeding are severely punished, while vehicles without regular number plates are immediately impounded and fined.
The Third Generation of “Operation Surveillance, Check, Sanction” road safety campaign involves patrol teams combining highways on motorbikes while other officers are deployed for brief periods on certain sections of the road and then moved to other areas. The watchword to motorists is caution, Col. Ewoudi reiterated.
Earlier at Ekali II, about 35 km from Yaounde on the Yaounde-Ebolowa highway, Captain Kang Athanasius led another detachment of gendarmes ensuring safe travel. A driver, Anyouzo Ernest had his vehicle impounded for not having a regular number plate, though he complained that he applied for it since April 1, 2016. Nguele Armand, another driver who found himself in the same situation said he applied for a vehicle registration certificate six months ago and was yet to receive any. As a result, he was yet to have a regular number plate.
