By Ramadan A. Kader On a hot summer evening, a band of motorcyclists appeared on a main Cairo street. They were part of a traditional wedding procession, which was apparently carrying a bridegroom and his prospective wife to the party's venue. Drivers in the procession honked their car horns in a traditional ear-splitting gesture of joy. The traffic on the road was so light that the groom's best men embarked on the second part of the show. In an acrobat-like daredevil trick, motorcyclists collectively lifted the front tyres of their machines as they moved ahead. Some well-dressed drivers in the procession dangerously swerved their cars, showing off their skills behind the wheel. The street show forced motorists, who happened to be on the road, to keep their distance for fear of suffering damage. There was no traffic policeman around to stop the unlawful show and bring the offenders to justice. Friends told me that the misconduct is growing popular, mainly from participants in street wedding processions. A new traffic law, promising tougher penalties, has been in the pipeline for months. Road crashes in Egypt are among the world's highest and the deadliest. Some 11,098 accidents occurred in Egypt last year, resulting in 3,747 deaths, according to a state stastics agency. Last year's mishaps also left 13,998 people injured and 17,201 cars damaged, the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics disclosed. The bulk of such crashes were blamed on reckless driving. Egypt does not need new codes to bring its unruly traffic under control. What it does need is to strictly enforce the existing laws.
