• Benin submits bill to unify and overhaul road safety laws
• Bill targets speeding, impaired driving, and vehicle safety gaps
• Road accidents cost up to 3% of GDP, World Bank says
  

Benin is pushing for a complete overhaul of its road safety laws, submitting an updated Highway Code bill to the National Assembly for a vote. The draft decree, approved during the ministerial council on September 24, aims to replace a collection of scattered, disparate texts that authorities say created an inconvenient and largely unenforceable legal environment.

The new code seeks to unify all traffic regulations, dramatically improving the clarity of rules, the effectiveness of penalties, and governance of the transport sector. This reform directly addresses the significant economic burden of road accidents. According to the World Bank, road accidents cost African nations between 1% and 3% of their GDP annually.

To curb these losses, the legislation targets the leading causes of collisions: speeding, impaired driving (drugs or alcohol), and inadequate vehicle safety features. The bill mandates stricter measures across the board, from driver education and speed limit enforcement to the absolute prohibition of psychotropic substances behind the wheel, emphasizing both prevention and aggressive enforcement of infractions.

Henoc Dossa