Capability of Traffic police department in reducing road accidents in Dar es salaam region:

Abstract

The study focused on assessing the capability of traffic police department in reducing road accidents in Ilala District in Dar es Salaam Region in Tanzania. Specifically the study focused on determine the technical capabilities of traffic police department in reducing road accidents in the study area, To examine the resource capabilities of traffic police department in reducing road accidents in the study area and to determine regulatory capabilities of traffic police department in reducing road accidents in the study area, sample size of 202 used in the study out of which 143 respondents participated towards the accumulation of data, qualitative and quantitative techniques were used to interpret data in the study and data were analysed by using SPSS model. A study showed that road accidents are influenced by both human and technical factors and it showed that traffic police departments often use techniques such as fine, verbal warning, vehicle inspections, and monitoring of speed limits to reduce accidents despite of the effort done by the police department the study showed that Ilala traffic police department lacks capability in human and financial resources, in conducting effective vehicle inspections, proper vehicle monitoring and records keeping. It recommended that, the Ilala traffic police department should collaborate with relevant authorities such as Prevention and Combating Corruption Bureau (PCCB). This can enable proper investigation of corruption practices and take proper actions and TANROADS should ensure regular and proper maintenance of road infrastructure and road furniture. Broken traffic lights should be replaced, bumps and holes in roads should be fixed as well as the National Audit Office should continue conducting annual independent auditing of road accidents and regulatory authorities responsible for road safety. The audit reports should be used to take measures to reduce road accidents