Iraqis often complain about the problems in their country and the government's lack of obvious progress in solving them. But as drivers in traffic-clogged Baghdad learned this week, Iraqi officials are taking action in one area: strict enforcement of a seat belt law.
Later this month, traffic police officers all over Iraq will start issuing tickets to any scofflaw who drives without buckling up. Violators will be fined 15,000 dinars -- about $12.50. "It is part of the healing process of this country and of Baghdad to enforce the law, law by law," said Brig. Gen. Zuhair Abada Mraweh, traffic commander for the capital's Rusafah district.
Some might say there are more pressing issues, such as car bombs that can turn a morning commute into a nightmare of blood and body parts, daily killings and kidnappings, political and sectarian infighting. Or that enforcing the seat belt law might not be an adequate solution in a city where traffic rarely moves above a crawl, checkpoints are ubiquitous, roads are often blocked, and it is not uncommon to see a vehicle charging down a street in the wrong direction.
Still, brigades of traffic officers trying valiantly to do their jobs have been a constant in an ever-changing landscape of war and chaos over the last five years. And as traffic police officers warned Baghdad drivers earlier this week that seat belt enforcement was about to begin, many drivers said it was probably a good thing.
"It is a symbol of civilization," said taxi driver Ahmed Wahayid, whose 1993 Honda Elantra was stuck in a long line of cars waiting to clear a checkpoint. "Western people in Europe and America have it, so we are like them."
Wahayid said he could not find words to describe the traffic in Baghdad. "If I didn't need to drive in order to eat and live I wouldn't."
Hussain Fathil, 35, trying to guide his 1991 Opel through the logjam, put it more briefly. "It pulls your heart apart," he said. But he doubted whether enforcing the seat belt law would help. "Do you want to know my opinion?' he said. "This law cannot be applied in such a city."
But he had his seat belt on and said that he would keep wearing it. "It's the law," he said. |