Rwanda National Police

Security companies charged with transporting money for financial institutions are urged to respect traffic rules like all other road users in order to curb accidents.

The Commissioner for Traffic and Road Safety, CP George Rumanzi, while speaking to owners and representatives of private security companies on September 28, noted that drivers of cash-in-transit convoys sometimes disrupt traffic flow by “over-speeding unnecessarily”, suddenly changing lanes without prior notice or breeching road safety rules.

The meeting was also attended by personnel from financial institutions.

Cash-in-transit convoys, he said, are not exception to traffic rules and warned that they face the same penalties for violating traffic rules like other road users.

CP Rumanzi noted that some cash-in-transit vehicles violate traffic regulations and disregard other road users  leading to high risk of accidents.

“This is simply unacceptable. Security companies should ensure that their drivers conduct themselves in a manner that is consistent to road safety,” CP Rumanzi said.

“Rwanda is safe, so  money transportation can also be executed smoothly without breaching road safety standards,” he said.

The General Manager of Topsec Security, Robert Kashemeza, who is also Chairperson of Rwanda Private Security Companies, welcomed the message, noting that some security companies hire drivers who are not experienced and lacking the knowledge of  how they should conduct themselves on the roads.

“Before security companies hire drivers and security personnel to follow cash-in-transit convoys, they should first of all ensure that they understand the need for collective road usage and safety,” Kashemeza said.

One of the participants at the meeting, Gervais Sibomana, the Security Manager of Bank of Kigali, acknowledged that there are no exceptions for cash-in-transit convoys and there issues that required right of way then traffic police should be informed. 

The meeting was held under the auspice of the ongoing road safety awareness month being held under the theme “Respect Traffic Rule: Save Lives.”

Elsewhere, Police officers in Ngororero and Bugesera districts engaged over 2, 000 students, commercial motorcyclists and cyclists in road traffic rules as Rwanda National Police (RNP) continues to reach out to all Rwandans in abide to further prevent accidents and improve on the road security status in the country.

The road safety awareness messages benefited students of Groupe Scolaire Hindiro and Kagasa Primary School in Ngororero and Bugesera districts respectively.

In Bugesera, AIP Janvier Renzaho told motorcyclists that: “Your lives mean a lot to the country, later alone to your dependants. There are people who count on you for survival. When you wake up in the morning going to work, they expect you to come back safe, and the same apply to others using same roads, so you should operate in a manner that guarantees your total safety and that of others.”

Police statistics indicate that motorcyclists and cyclists accounted for 36 percent of the total victims of road accidents between January and June this year.

About 200 people died and over 300 others were seriously injured in the same period. 34 percent of the victims were drivers and passengers while pedestrians accounted for 30 percent.

Majority of the accidents were due to over speeding, reckless driving, and using telephones while driving.

The road safety month is an occasion to sensitize the public to become responsible road users, educate pedestrians on traffic rules and regulations.