When in doubt, penalize, especially if it’s lucrative business. The news that the police have purchased an additional 50 speed cameras to enhance safety on our roads should be greeted with circumspection.

Although extraordinary measures are needed to stem the tide of quasi-daily fatalities, simply fining drivers for speeding will have only limited impact if not accompanied by an overhaul of the driver training system. For Mauritians don’t only drive fast, they drive badly, a fact most of us are reminded of several times a day. And even if the introduction of a demerit point system is a massive step in the right direction, it will not change driving habits on its own.

In short, repression should be accompanied by education if it’s to make a meaningful dent on the death toll on our roads. The Mauritian driver is a cash cow and speed cameras the means to milk him.

That’s the current impression given by the police’s zeal in enforcing speed limits, an impression our men in blue seem intent on reinforcing.

Their choice of spots and, often, targets show that it’s a numbers rather than a safety game. Not only do the police have a distinct preference for 60km/h zones rather than, say, 110km/h zones, irrespective of which stretches pose the greatest threat to road users, but they also seem to be selective in the types of vehicles they aim their speed guns at.

Also, the authorities’ proclaimed concern for safety is greatly undermined by their insouciance about other infractions on our roads.

It’s one thing to stop a motorcycle for zigzagging between vehicles, a practice that is as frustrating as it is dangerous it’s an altogether different one to systematically stop motorcycles for no other crime than the off chance that there may be a reason to fine them for the sake of quotas.

This dissonance is also apparent in the current emphasis on enforcing speed limits whereas tailgating, one of the most infuriating and perilous habits of Mauritian drivers, is rarely if ever punished. Safety, you say? Bumper harvest, more likely. Naturally, cops can’t be expected to be around every time an infraction is committed. And that’s exactly why education is a vital component in any earnest drive to improve road safety. Yes, there must be deterrents to ensure road users think twice before trying out for a role in the Fast and the Furious, but it’s just as important that they’re taught that these are no-nos in the first place.

And anyone who’s obtained a driver’s licence from Les Casernes knows that sticking your arm out at a stop sign is more important than actual real life situations. The current crop of drivers is probably a lost generation. The sooner their replacements on the road are taught what driving is really about the better. But do the authorities really want to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs?

Nicholas RAINER