2024-07-03 11:13:34
The campaign, under the slogan “Beware of trains: life can change in a fraction of a second”, which took place on June 28 in Yaoundé, aimed to inform motorists, pedestrians and vulnerable people, through the distribution of flyers, of the behavior to adopt when faced with a level crossing.
During this activity marking the 16th International Level Crossing Awareness Day, the focus was on motorcycle taxi drivers. According to Alhadji Aboubakar, president of the Yaoundé 1st Motorcycle Taxi Association, “More than 80% of motorcycle taxi drivers have no idea of the Highway Code. The motorcycle taxi driver is the one who is always in a hurry to cross,” he stressed. And added that they are ambassadors and that after this awareness each of them will return to their boarding point to also raise awareness among their other colleagues. Note that these mototaximen received as a gift, about twenty vests.
Indeed, among the awareness points we note the level crossings of Yaoundé 1is (slaughterhouse rails and Ngousso rails). During the interview with the mototaxi drivers, Martial Manfred Missimikim, executive director of the road safety NGO Securoute, a partner of Camrail, listed the safety measures, inviting at the same time the mototaxi drivers to strictly respect these rules before entering a railway line.“This involves slowing down when approaching a level crossing, stopping at a flashing red light or at the “Stop” sign, crossing with caution and only proceeding if you are sure you can cross while clearing the railway gauge,” he explained..
Less than 20 accidents on the network since 2024
This was revealed by Hélène-Michèle Ndougsa Mbang, head of the occupational safety and prevention department at the Africa Global Logistics (AGL) subsidiary. According to this Camrail executive, this figure represents a slight decrease compared to the previous year, when more than 20 accidents were reported on official level crossings. She added that the majority of these accidents are attributed to non-compliance with the Highway Code, particularly by motorcycle taxi drivers who represent more than half of the people involved in collisions with trains.
Clandestine level crossings called into question
The head of the workplace safety and prevention department at the Africa Global Logistics (AGL) subsidiary also points the finger of blame at the existence of clandestine level crossings on the railway network as a contributing factor to the accidents. “Apart from the level crossings that are recognized, we also have clandestine level crossings for which we are fighting through the support of our supervisory ministry (Ministry of Transport) which supports us through the railway management to bring this phenomenon under control”she reassured.
It should be noted that in 2023, Camrail recorded 139 official level crossings on its network, while the Ministry of Transport had recorded 217 crossings at the end of July 2022, including 90 clandestine crossings.