Control these Kamikazes please!!

The story of Kamikaze pilots is one that is fascinating as well as intriguing as it introduced a very new phenomenon in war very alien to the western world...

For those of you without a history background, the Kamikaze were World War II Japanese pilots trained for suicide missions of flying an aircraft packed with explosives into an enemy target, often a ship...obviously this meant certain death for the pilots (a fact of which they were all too aware was inevitable).

This art of suicide bombing seems to have been perfected by various "freedom fighters" or "terrorists" depending on which side of the argument you find yourself. They have used all kinds of rudimentary means of transportation to deliver their package of death ranging from dilapidated vehicles to bikes even down to the most basic...legs.

There is a different kind of Kamikaze roaming the streets of Malawi especially in Lilongwe, Mzuzu and Salima just to mention a few. The Malawian version of Kamikaze is one that borders on the ludicrous. Unlike the other 2 groups mentioned above (which had/have a clear objective albeit malevolent), the Malawian kind does not even have a clue that they are on a suicide mission.

I am talking here about cyclists who go about their normal routines oblivious of the fact that everyday they are putting their lives in harms way. Ok granted; life in itself is a risk, but for these guys it is suicide mission.

For starters, a majority of our cyclists do not have adequate education as you may be aware that this is a good starting point for one to know what the laws of the land say. In addition, I have never heard of any effort to educate cyclists on the ABCs of road use etc. Add that to the fact that our roads are so narrow that every road user is forced to scramble for the same thin strip of tarmac, you know who will end up on the losing side in the event of any mishap on the road.

The other problem is that these guys do not even put on outfits that can make them visible in the night. You see a cyclist and you may be forgiven for mistaking him with a hyaena or some other less glorious beast.

I believe that if the authorities were to: 1. train these guys how to use the roads without endangering their own and other people's lives, 2. enforce the use of reflective vests for all cyclists and 3. widen our roads a little bit to give some margin for error, most of the carnage on our roads could be averted.

The cyclists should also know that in they event of an accident they are the LOSERS and a bit of risk averseness would go a long way in ensuring that travelling on our roads is not a suicide mission...