Driving in Zambia

Could you imagine spending a night in police cells in the heart of Lusaka for running a red light on a Sunday evening? I’m sure glad my Pop got pulled over in broad daylight and was able to pay the fine on the spot with no questions asked…

22h00 last night, I’m about to jump into the tub when Alvin says “Dress up, we’re going for a ride”. Turns out our good friend had been arrested by the police and thrown into cells. We were asked to pick up her vehicle because she didn’t want the car to get vandalised overnight. Unfortunately for us (& her) it was too late to visit her to pick up the keys, and there was no one working who could accept the payment of the fine. All this for running a red light on a Sunday evening- if you can believe it.

I’m sorry- I think this is all utterly fantastic. If you’ve never driven in Zambia before, the road laws are merely a suggestion (unless you’re caught without a seat belt &/or speeding- right Pop?) Muhahah. Ok, but seriously- traffic cops generally work a 9am-5pm Monday to Saturday; which means a lot of people do terribly illegal things when they know the police will not be on the street. For example, on my early morning runs I will be accompanied by a great number of overloaded trucks (many that do not have brakes) that ferry farm vegetables into the markets for sale. These trucks are most obviously not roadworthy, which is why they transport goods in the early hours- when they are almost guaranteed no trouble from traffic police. There is also a serious problem with drinking and driving. Every weekend the accident rates must go through the roof. On my Saturday morning runs I have seen many a vehicle in the ditch with men sheepishly calling their wives to help bail them out. I actually detest being in cars at night because there are generally no street lights (it’s dark my friends- dark) and there are often recklessly drunk people behind the wheel (in fact, it is not uncommon to find taxi drivers with a bottle of Castle or Mosi between their legs- & that’s on any given day).

All that to say that I feel my friend’s arrest and mandatory night in cells is horrible; if the manpower is there to make an arrest, shouldn’t there also be a person who can accept the fine? I spoke to her this morning & she was giggling so I’m assuming that all is well & we’ll have good fuel for stories this week!

Oh the drama.