Morocco: Too many speed cameras?
The debate on road safety took an unexpected turn in the House of Councillors this Monday. During the examination of the budget of the Ministry of Transport, Mohamed Belfkih, an elected member of the National Rally of Independents (RNI), strongly criticized the proliferation of speed control devices, describing this density as an "abuse" and "harassment" towards motorists.
The elected representative used the specific example of the axis connecting Sidi Wassay to Tiznit. According to him, this section is saturated with control devices, with four fixed radars to which four to five mobile cameras are added. Directly questioning the Minister of Transport on this situation, which he considers excessive, he received a rather surprising response. The government official admitted to knowing the exact location of these radars, confessing: "Yes, between Sidi Wassay and Tiznit, they catch me too." A frankness that provoked the ironic response of the parliamentarian: "If even you, Mr. Minister, are caught, I have nothing more to say."
Beyond the anecdote, Mohamed Belfkih questioned the real impact of this repressive policy. He pointed out that the proliferation of radars did not result in an improvement in road safety indicators. He questioned the purpose of these massive controls, suggesting that they could serve other objectives than the simple prevention of accidents.
The councillor also pointed to the inadequacy of certain speed limits, arguing that imposing a speed of 60 km/h monitored by four radars on the same section was incomprehensible to citizens. He argued that modern vehicles naturally exceed this threshold as soon as they are in motion, stating that even law enforcement officers at the wheel would have difficulty complying with such a constraint.
