Checkpoints on the Yaounde-Bafoussam highway has been recently recording several road offences.

A disturbed Major General, Simon Pierre Dagafounangsou, Commander of the First Gendarmerie Region, descended from a transport bus belonging to Binam Voyages after checks on Saturday September 6, 2014 around midday, at the Gendarmerie road safety checkpoint in the hamlet of Bape Mondiale, Konyambeta.

The locality is situated about 10 kilometres from Bafia, headquarters of Mbam and Inoubou Division in the Centre Region.

In effect, the senior gendarmerie official found the 62-seater bus, with registration number CE 752 ES, overloaded by 17 passengers - mostly children - seated in the gangway and the stairway in unbearable heat.

“During this back-to-school period, we see more of overloading cases but we have to let the bus go in order not to penalise the children,” he told his staff after sensitising the driver on the inability of his insurance company to cover any of the overloaded persons in case of any accident.

Major General Dagafounangsou was also worried that there was lesser traffic on Saturday morning which was the last day before school reopening. “Perhaps this is caused by the fact that besides the Gendarmerie, the road safety control teams from the Ministry of Transport are also out to ensure lesser road delinquency during this back-to-school period,” he attempted an explanation.

However, featuring prominently amongst road offences recorded were excessive speed, failure to use security belts, overloading with luggage, worn-out tyres, inadequate First-Aid boxes, tinted glasses and wrongful overtaking; for which the offending motorists paid fines ranging from FCFA 3,600 to FCFA 25,000.

At the Nkolnguem gendarmerie checkpoint about 30 kilometres from Yaounde on the same highway, over 90 road offences were recorded on Friday and Saturday, according to the chief of post, Captain Divine Fortu Koffi.

A Toyota Tercel car bound for Ebebda with eight occupants instead of five, drove past the checkpoint, but was chased and finally caught by a police highway patrol bike. The driver was brought to book amidst pleas that he was hurrying off to a funeral.