Just when you thought that life couldn’t get tougher for motorists on the roads of Malawi, here comes news confirming your worst fears. TRAFFIC OFFENCE FINES ARE GOING UP!!!

Now, if you are a law abiding motorist well versed in the arts of yoga and Super Saiyan Zen techniques, this shouldn’t really be cause for worry but if you are just a regular Joe like me with no love for the erratic minibus drivers and those slow coaches who insist on driving in the wrong lane of Malawi’s miniature version of the Autobahn (Masauko Chipembere Highway) then this will rev your blood pressure up just a bit.  Effective from the 1st of October 2014, these are the new fines for traffic offences:

1. Driving without spare tyre – K5000 from K1000 (500% increase)
2. Driving a car with wornout tyres – K5000 from K1500 (333.33% increase)
3. Honking the horn unnecessary (pokwiya kuti wa minibus wayima all of a sudden or mwakumana ndi mzanu mukupasana moni. kaya pa convoy ya ukwati) – K5000 from K2000 (250% increase)
4. Driving without licence or forgotten it somewhere – K25 000
5. Driving a car without insurance – K25 000
6. Driving without COF – K5000
7. Overspeeding – K8000 (speed trap imeneyo)

Looking at these fines leaves me with the feeling that these figures will only spur another different type of offence that’s criminal in nature, bribery of police officers. Bribery of traffic officers is a well known open secret. Unscrupulous cops are quick to release back on the road a vehicle with no C.OF that endangers many lives of the populace in exchange for “a bottle of Fanta”. As one commentator put it, “Malawi police work not to prevent accidents but to raise money!”. This is not surprising when you look at the basic salary of most police officers who have children to feed and send to school.

My question is, will these new fines turn many of us down the criminal path offering to pay a bribe for a traffic offense instead of being legit and paying the actual fine?