Road signs; problem for road users

The road innovation exercise that gave Buea a new look, ahead of the presidential visit in February 2014, has quickly become a big problem for road users.

This road innovation gave birth to different new road signs which road users are expected to respect. One of the striking road signs that was introduced during that period, which has been noticed only in the city of Buea, is the zebra crossing that has remained a lasting nightmare to some road users in the municipality.

In recent times, it has been observed that the use of road signs is creating a lot more problems to pedestrians and drivers who do not use the Highway Code correctly.

It has also been noticed that some road users were already acquainted to the previous road design and see no reason for the recent change, while others happily welcome this new road innovation.

According to Samuel Molombe Ngambi, president of the driver’s union Buea section, it is obligatory for drivers to respect and use the new road signs and they should be the ones to ensure the organisation of sensitisation programmes to educate all road users, in collaboration with the Divisional Officer for Buea, Paul Koum.

Speaking to Ernest Chi, a businessman at the G.C.E. Board junction, he mentioned that, “it was good to have these road innovations done in Buea because now, pedestrians use the highway with some level of respect”. He uses the road signs but is afraid because not all the drivers respect and use the Highway Code, and this often leads to accidents.

Eric Mboh Mbaweh says he is happy that these road signs were implemented, especially the zebra crossings, because he believes that when he uses these signs correctly, he has the right over the drivers.

A business woman at Sandpit, Nyamondo, said she, “I do not use the road signs because I do not know what they stand for”.

“These road signs are very important to road users but not all pedestrians respect them”, Roland Njambe, a driver declared.