Crossing the road without using the designated crosswalks can now result in a fine in Moroccan cities. A measure that has been implemented a few days ago, 7 years after it was ratified in the 2010 Highway Code. Going viral on social media, the newly applied law has been the subject of a controversy. Details. Several people have claimed on the internet that they were fined for not using a designated crossing point to cross the roads. The new law applied by policemen all over the Kingdom has gone viral on social media. Indeed, pedestrians who tend to ignore crosswalks when crossing the road are to be fined 25 dirhams, says MAP. Speaking to a senior official, the news agency insisted that traffic officers have started imposing fines on pedestrians, and drivers who are not respecting crossing points. However, this supposedly new regulation has been part of the Highway Code unanimously adopted in October 2010 by the Kingdom's Chamber of Councilors. The matter was thoroughly explained by Abdessadek Maafa, head of the communication and awareness-raising division at the National Committee for the Prevention of Road Accidents. Three fogotten articles Speaking to Yabiladi, Maafa insisted that the newly implemented procedure is part of the 2010 05.52 law, referring to three main articles, namely 94, 187 and 219. «The three articles have been there since 2010, and traffic officers were taking them into consideration when imposing fines on offenders», he said. «The aforementioned articles are now implemented because the yearly statistics are quite worrying. A thousand pedestrians die every year in Morocco and that is a lot». Quoting article 94, Maafa stated that by law every pedestrian out there is expected to «be cautious and avoid putting him or herself as well as others in dangerous situations, respect regulations set by the law and refrain from committing actions that would harm the road environment». The article is supported by two other texts that establish the amount of the fine an offender may be subject to. In this case, article 187 indicates that the fine designated for such traffic offense is ranging from 20 to 50 dirhams. This is confirmed by article 219 from the Highway Code which stresses that pedestrians may be fined up to 25 dirhams in case they admit that they did not abide by the rules and regulations set by the first article. A global plan For Abdessadek Maafa, this step came as a complement to other parts of the Highway Code. «Fining offenders did not include only pedestrians but also drivers who are forced to respect the law», he explained, adding that «they will have to pay a fine ranging from 500 to 700 dirhams for not respecting crossing points in the city». According to him, the committee has been working for almost seven years on the implementation of such a regulation by organizing awareness-raising campaigns all over the country. And to respond to those who believe that drivers and the poor infrastructure should be taken into consideration via a well-studied long-term program, Maafa said : «We started gradually even before the implementation of the Highway Code planning campaigns, raising awareness regarding the matter through TV and radio advertising campaigns. We have produced so far more than 10 videos and audio podcasts only for the safety of pedestrians». The objective for Maafa and the National Committee for the Prevention of Road Accidents is to «make pedestrians figure out and realize that they are as concerned by the Highway Code as cars and that they are equally part of this chain». When and how to cross However, Maafa shed light on a rather interesting factor in this whole story. Asked about when and where a traffic officer is allowed to fine a pedestrian, the senior official answered explaining that «if there is no designated crossing point, pedestrians are allowed to choose a spot where they can see and be seen clearly and cross without being fined or stopped». To put it in other words, Maafa stated that «it is impossible to fine pedestrians if there is no crossing point for them to use», however, they are still expected to respect the regulations set by Article 94 and cross in a way that wouldn't harm them nor put others' lives in jeopardy. Here, he insisted that when crossing, a pedestrian should remain cautious, look right and left, cross in a straight line and respect traffic lights (red and green). Balafrej denounces the measure Although, Maafa's explanation sounds sensible, controversy arose regarding the way this procedure has been put forward. Omar Balafrej, a politician and an MP for the Federation of the Democratic Left (FGD) has been one of the Moroccan parliamentarians denouncing the newly implemented regulation. In fact, he sent a written question to the Interior Ministry and the Equipment, Transport and Logistics Ministry urging them to create more crosswalks. Speaking to Yabiladi, the left-wing politician insisted that «the best way to ensure the safety of pedestrians and drivers is to restore crosswalks and create new ones all over the Kingdom». «Before fining pedestrians for not using crosswalks we need to think of the lack of infrastructure». He also denounced the fact that «an awareness-raising campaign should have been conducted first to make people understand, read and respect the Highway Code before imposing fines». He clarified saying : «I am not against the fact that pedestrians are being fined but I am totally opposed to the way this was launched. In my opinion, we should start with what's logical to people. And logic says that first and foremost we need more crosswalks in our cities.» While some think that the measure is the right thing to do and others believe the opposite, numbers and statistics remain the reliable way to establish which strategy is the best to fight against road accidents.
