In brief
- Somaliland Sun reported on 30 June 2015 that interior minister Mohamed Ali Waran'ade ordered trucks with bumpers off the Berbera-Hargeisa highway, effective immediately.
- The same report says traffic police were cracking down on trucks with bumpers.
- The report does not establish whether the ban is in force today, how many vehicles were affected, or what penalties applied.
HARGEISA (Somalilandsun), 30 June 2015. Somaliland's interior minister ordered trucks with bumpers off the road linking Hargeisa to the port city of Berbera, and the order took effect immediately, Somaliland Sun reported on 30 June 2015.
The report, by Latifa Yusuf Masai, named the minister as Mohamed Ali Waran'ade and said he issued the order during the burial of three people killed in an accident. Traffic police manning the Berbera-Hargeisa highway were cracking down on trucks with bumpers, the report said.
The same report linked the order to a fatal crash on 28 June 2015, which it said involved an over-speeding water tanker that crushed a car. Two of the three dead were Finance Ministry staff, named by the report as security staff Muse Ali Duale and Wali Daud Egal, Director of the Planning Department at the Ministry of Finance. The third was veteran Horn Cable TV cameraman Mohamed Daud Yusuf.
Somaliland Sun reported that the minister said police investigations indicate most road accidents are caused by trucks with bumpers, and that he rejected the claimed condition of the road as a reason for the accidents. The report added that most trucks in the country had enormous bumpers installed as protection, and that owners removed them without any qualms, as opposed to other orders that are vehemently contested. It described the highway as one that had claimed hundreds of lives.
What the report does not establish
The report does not establish what happened after 30 June 2015. It does not say whether the ban was ever rescinded, amended or renewed. It does not provide a fleet count or registry behind the claim that most trucks had bumpers, nor any survey of how many bumpers were removed, when, or by whom. It gives no date or location for the burial at which the order was issued, and no response from truck owners, transporters or port and transport authorities.
No police report, investigation document or road condition assessment is cited. The claim that most accidents are caused by trucks with bumpers is the minister's, as reported by Somaliland Sun, not an independently verified finding. The minister's dismissal of the road's condition as a cause is likewise his position as reported.
The report names no contractor, consultant or funder for the highway or for any enforcement activity. It also does not say whether the crackdown produced a compliance programme, a modification requirement or a schedule.
Frequently asked questions
When did the truck bumper ban take effect?
Somaliland Sun reported on 30 June 2015 that the interior minister's order took effect immediately. The report does not give a written commencement instrument or a separate enforcement start date.
What was the reason given for the ban?
Interior minister Mohamed Ali Waran'ade said police investigations indicated most road accidents are caused by trucks with bumpers, according to Somaliland Sun. The report does not cite the underlying investigation.
How was the ban enforced and what were the penalties?
Somaliland Sun reported that traffic police manning the Berbera-Hargeisa highway were cracking down on trucks with bumpers. The report gives no penalty, no number of trucks stopped, fined, turned back or modified, and no further enforcement detail.