Habari

This is my last working day in Tanzania, just like the other days, I get in the lift from the thirtieth floor, the lift operator, who told me she earns 100,000 shillings a week (about forty quid) spends all day Monday to Saturday, going up & down, up & down, presses the button for the ground floor, I think to my self; I hope the lift doesn’t stop to many times, boy was it hot in there.

I walk from the lift to the reception area to meet Adam the cab driver, passing through the long but quite wide corridor, where a couple of shops sold souvenirs. I once again observed around 20 or so members of staff at the far end of the corridor, standing in what looked like a guard of honour, all dressed smarty and neatly in their company uniforms, as I approached in my Metroline shirt so perfectly iron by the guy from the laundry, (by the way, within ten minutes of being on the coach, picks up its first stain) they look at me as I pass through the lobby.

I say “Mumbo” (which means how are you) they reply “Poa” (which mean fine ) but alas; this guard of honour is not for my benefit, that’s where the mangers office was, my departure time coincided with their team meeting and they were waiting for him to put in an appearance.

Another day another accident, ten minutes after leaving the institute to practice the lesson plan on how to approach, enter and negotiate roundabouts, we drove passed the scene of an accident which involved a motor cyclist.

We saw the motor cyclist lying on the road, he had been knocked off his bike, a fairly large crowd gathered around; I really hoped someone there knew first aid; as I don’t think the emergency services would have a very good response time, its was only 09:30 I got the feeling that it wouldn’t be the last accident of the day.

At the garage the institute use for refuelling the coach, we stop to pick up some bottles of cold water, I was told by one of the lads last week to use the brand called “Kilimanjaro” so I have been sticking to that ever since, he said it was the best ever, I later found out that he comes from that area, so a little biased maybe.

While the lads went into buy the drinks I asked  a security guard standing at the entrance to the garage if it was okay to record him with my camcorder, I told him I would make him famous in London, I thought it best to ask politely first, after all, he was carrying a rifle, which hung around his neck.

On the road the usual mayhem unfolds, the Dala Dala drivers are up to the normal tricks, one of the lads told me that many many years ago the fare to travel on one of these buses was five shillings, he went on to explain that Dala Dala in Tanzanian, means five shilling, so passengers got on the five shilling bus.

Everybody knows about the dangers that are on the roads, people will have to think outside the box & try everything they can to get the problem sorted out. Motorist need to be educated, be made aware that they are “The Problem” and need to change their attitudes towards driving.

If you ever visit Dar es Salaam; traffic lights are often ignored & don’t for one minute think you can at least cross the street on a Zebra Crossing and get across safely, priority has been stolen by the motorist & they too are simply ignored, if by a miracle someone does stop, be afraid, be very afraid; because as sure as eggs are eggs, there will be always be someone, either over taking or undertaking that’s a certainty.

The lads have responded well to the training, taking on board the principles of defensive driving & putting it into their practical drives. They has listened intently & asked many questions. It’s been great to see them improve as much as they have. I know further inputs are being planned by Transaid sometime next year & wish the lads that come out here, every success.

My last duty was to have a meeting with Neil & the head of road safety Mr Hans Mwaipopo and debrief them on my tour of duty & discussed among other things, which trainees should benefit from those future inputs, Mr Mwaipopo has already spoken to the trainees from last week & questioned them on the materials & training they had received, he told me there was tangible evidence that my input has been a success.

Mr Mwaipopo asked me to thank Metroline for their support and sponsorship in allowing me to come out to Tanzania and I do that now, he also asked me to thank my family, for allowing him to take me away from them, I thank them too.

I also want to thank Metroline; for giving me the opportunity to come to Tanzania, they can be confident that the huge investment they have made; will make a big difference in saving lives.

I hope those that have been reading my blog have found it okay, I know there have been a few typos along the way; I wish I had the opportunity to Nicolise it first, she wouldn’t  have missed a thing.

So that’s it, job done; so what about those inoculations I had that made me feel quite unwell, the ten hour flight, the heat on the coach, the traffic, the chaos, the mayhem and last but not least the pharmaceutical issues, would I do it all again.

You bet your bottom dollar I would.

Habari

I haven’t told you about the “Dip Stick yet have I?

No-not a Dala Dala driver, Professional, Competent, Considerate just a few words you would never use to describe one. What these guys get up to is plain lunacy.

No- not even Adam the taxi driver who picks me up in the mornings from the hotel and takes me to and from work. He’s not a bad lad at all really, he normally arrives on time anyway, in this town that’s pretty good going, you will soon suss out how he does it though, he can speak as much English as I can speak Swahili, I always say to him when I get in or out of his cab “Asante Sana” (which means thank-you very much) how he gets about with out hitting anything though, I will never know, tailgates the lead vehicle, he rarely uses his mirrors and weaves in and out of traffic just like the rest of them.

No-not even a Bajaji driver, they are a breed of their own, I haven’t told you about them have I.

A Bajaji is small three wheeled covered vehicle which you can hire like a cab, they're a bit cheaper than a normal cab, (sorry “normal” cab ha ha), lets say regular cab.

I found some information on the Bajaji and this is what the report said:

“Following the unprecedented population growth in the Tanzanian capital Dar es Salaam, initiatives have multiplied to solved issues related to it, The Bajaji motorbikes, initially designed for the disabled are now being used by the non-disabled, and, in fact, are invading all the streets of Dar es Salaam, posing a traffic security challenge”

These things weave in and out of the traffic risking life and limb, they really are dangerous, you won’t be seeing a picture of me sitting in one, that’s for sure.

No, I meant the dip stick on the coach for checking the oil, when we do the checks, we have to unlock the dip stick which is secured by a bicycle lock threaded through the ring you use when you pull the thing out, dip sticks are often stolen in Tanzania, I was told they are worth a fair bit of money when sold on.

“Okay okay, you can get the joke out of the way now please:  you’re thinking about phoning someone, saying you have a dip stick for sale in Tanzania aren’t you”

While conducting the lesson plan on vehicle checks, another group of students began to congregate around a Dala Dala parked next to the Scania in the institute’s compound, the institute use this vehicle for PSV training (they still use the term PSV) you may recall me saying that theses Dala Dala have twenty four seats.

The students climbed aboard, all seats became occupied, they were about to have some driving lessons. I know, I’m thinking the same as you, how can anyone be trained properly when there are so many students, I’m told it gets worse when they use the Scania, don’t forget, I have already told you the Scania has sixty seats.

Time behind the wheel is extremely sparse, a lot of PSV training at the institute is classroom based, at Metroline there is a huge amount of classroom based learning, there is also a huge amount of on road training, and they need that here as well.

I’m  told that work is going on to try and reduce the number of students there are on any one vehicle, maybe down to around fifteen, by doing this though, there will be a heavy drain on the funding available to the institute, so who knows if this will be achieved.

Fifteen is still a ridiculous number of trainees on a bus, however, it would at least be a step in the right direction, and I hope it can be achieved in the very near future. The students who will benefit from the numbers being reduced will have the responsibility to drive professionally, not sink back into the poor standards that are out here now, there has to be tangible evidence to the money men, that better training, makes better drivers, better drivers save lives.

On the road I ask the lads to stop off as I wanted to buy some fruit, in particular bananas, with the pharmaceutical issue I am experiencing and feeling a bit below par, bananas are a good source of energy, that’s why you see so many tennis players at Wimbledon eat them, its natures equivalent of a Red bull. 

We stop at what I can only describe as a truck stop some 109 Kilometres from the institute, we could have stopped sooner but I was in no rush, there was also a garage and scores & scores of people selling fruit and other goods, as soon as another vehicle arrived they would descend on it, trying to sell their wares, the lads approached a young boy no older than seven, he was holding a heavy basket containing loads of bananas.

I wanted to get the Camcorder out for the DVD I am putting together and film the scene, one of the lads said to me “Mr Ron, don’t use your camera here, there are some bad boys about” it stayed on the coach, which was securely locked.

I broke off six bananas, I asked one of the lads how much the boy wanted, after speaking to him in Swahili I was told he wanted 150 shillings, now, the exchange rate after fees is about 2500 to the pound, so this boy wanted 6p for the lot, just to confirm its not a typo 6p

The smallest note I had in my pocket was a 2000 the trainee said to me “you cant give him that he wont have enough change” I gave the boy the note and said keep the change, well, this little cherubs face lit up; it really was quite sweet, I saw him walk away with his hand in his pocket clenching his fist, there was no way in the world that note was going anywhere but home with him.

While milling around the truck stop, I hear “hello there” from behind me, I turned round, this guy about 6’ 2” approached me saying “your not from these parts are you” I said “err no I’m not” maybe the Metroline shirt gave me away.

I recognised the accent though, it turned out he was a truck driver from Zimbabwe,  we engaged in a short conversation, as I explained what I was doing in Tanzania, he seemed pleasant enough or was he simply disappointed that I wasn’t just a tourist, when he realised I had three lads in tow, after all, there were some bad boys about.

Not every body was happy bunny that day though, when we left the truck stop, passing through the town, we saw two lads knocking seven buckets out of each other.

 As we motor along some open stretches of road with the driver doing quite nicely, I talk to the other lads about recording faults and preparing for debrief at the end of the drive, I want them to apply the principles of PNP when giving feedback (that stands for Positive, Negative, Positive) start with some good points about the drive, hit them where it hurts with the negatives of the drive, then finish on a high)

I cut the chat short every now and then, when I bark out an instruction or advice to the driver when I see him make a mistake or when he approaches a hazard that needs dealing with in a certain way, if you have ever been trained at Cardington you soon learn that we can really multi task and we are always looking.

For my own use I produced some progress reports prior to leaving the UK I adapted the ones that are usually used at Metroline to fit in with this environment, I will maintain these, as it my intention to give a summary of my trip to Tanzania to my manager.

I thought it would be a good idea to have a picture of a Metroline double decker bus on the front of the progress report to give it a flavour of London, I showed one of these reports to a trainee, I explained that it’s important to record information to refer back to, so you can plot the progress or non progress of all students.

One particular trainee is a smart lad, high up in the Institute of Training, a true theorist on driving; errm, I’ll come back to him later if I have time, after seeing the picture of the Metroline double decker bus though, he then told me that he went to England in 1986, on a vocational trip, visiting training institution; which included a visit to London Transport, oh I said “where did you go” he then went on to tell me and I really did laugh out loud, “ I went to the playground where they spun the buses”  (sorry you have to be a bus man/woman for that one)

Habari

I haven’t really talked about the weather out here have I; okay I won’t bang on about it too much, just letting you know that’s all, it can get very hot; regularly reaching around Thirty degrees, but boy; when it rains it chucks it down.

By the time we have completed the bus checks, my clothes are wringing wet from the heat, I cool down in the shade during a tea break, which is known as “Chai” or join Neil in his luxury office (really just a room with a ceiling fan) before heading out onto the road.

The Scania that I am using for training, has not got air conditioning, so it can get extremely hot on there, it feels great when we do get a piece of open road and can make good progress, the breeze coming through the open windows is wonderful.

Not so much fun when stuck in traffic, but Hey Ho T I A that stands for “This Is Africa” a phrase people seem to use quite a lot, when things are not quite how they would like them to be.

Cooling down in the swimming pool after work is a real drag, the things I do for Metroline, I’m pleased that the hotel has a laundry guy, who can wash and iron shirts as good as anyone; he even ironed my boxers, how crazy is that!

A funny thing happened to me early in the trip; I decided to stick a note on the mirror in my room reminding me to take my Malaria tablets, I didn’t want to miss taking one.

I was given twenty four tablets by my GP and told to take one a day until they had all gone, they came in two boxes, each box containing one foil strip of twelve, as they were in the same bag I received from the chemist; I thought it would be sensible to take one foil strip out, throw the box away and use that foil strip first, therefore, I wouldn’t inadvertently start both boxes (just seemed a good idea at the time)

On the note I had written a question to my self which said “have you taken the Malaria tablets” and thought no more of it.

When I return to the room after work, the housekeeper had written on the note in a sort of pigeon English: “I sorry sir excuses me, I taken the box from bin of rubbish as I thought no good pleases excuses me”

I thought OMG she thinks she’s thrown away my tablets. I immediately went to the cleaning station at the end of the walk way and tried to explain what the note was all about, things got a bit lost in translation at times, but I got it sorted in the end.

To combat mosquito bites I have been using a four pronged attack. In the room I have the usual plug in device that you all have probably used before on your trips abroad, I have also used aerosol sprays from head to foot, a useful tip when ever you use a spray, when spraying yourself stand in front of the blinds or curtains in the room, the overspray will then impregnate the curtains, it will help to stop the little blighters getting into your room.

I have also tried something different, my local chemist at home who regularly visits India, suggested using Clove Oil, he said it’s the best thing he ever uses, “put a couple of drops on your wrists, ankles and behind your ears” he said, Mosquitoes hate the smell. I smell like a humbug though, who cares; no on really knows me out here anyway. 

I was also told by a driving instructor who works for Metroline; who regularly visit Ghana to add a couple of drops of Citronella Oil to any creams that I might be using.

Well!! touch wood I have escape up to now, but now I have told you that, you know what will happen!!!

Not been so lucky in another areas though, taking some Pharmaceutical products now, the stomach pains have kicked in, by the very fact that I brought these products with me, suggests I was well aware that I would succumb to the inevitable, however, as I write this blog the pain has eased.

There you go again “Awareness & Planning “sorts all sorts of things out”

I’m smiling to my self now, I  was going to substitute the word “things” with a word starting with “S” I thought better of it though!!

The lads have responded well to the training, as I said before; they really do appreciate everything so much. I have seen a great improvement in their driving skills.

Driving faults; really do centre around awareness and planning to be fair, if you’re not aware of anything and can’t plan anything, then maybe driving is not an option for you, it might be an idea for some drivers home to go on a “Manual Handling Course” that way they won’t hurt their backs putting heavy tins of tomatoes on the top shelf at Tescos (other stores are available for Manual Handling Operatives)

I have been driving since I was 15; I left school with some dodgy reports and a twenty five yard swimming certificate. I secured a job as a trainee car mechanic at Borehamwood Motor Centre, the garage, if you use the A1 travelling north of Stirling Corner, is now a plant hire company.

I was a school boy on Friday; on the Monday I was suppose to be a man. I entered a whole new world, what a wake up call I can tell you.  

At the garage; I was given a pair of green overalls and introduce to the mechanic I would be working with, no that’s a lie, the mechanic I would be working for, we are talking 1972 here, back chat was not an option and this guy meant business.

The mechanic gave me some simple instructions: he said “right son I ask you for a tool, you take it out my tool box and give it me, I use the tool and give it back to you; you clean it and put it back in the tool box, how hard could that be I thought. except with this guy barking out his orders like 7/16- 9/16 -5/8 -open ended spanner, ring spanner, combination spanner etc etc, I just got totally lost, after a while it became quite easy though; I could look at a nut and size it up straight away (no change there then)

Any way, on my first day this mechanic asked me if I could drive, I of course said no, ok he told me, at lunch time I’ll show you. True to his word he let me have a go in his “Ford Classic” after Kangarooing around the compound during a few lunch times, after a while I started to get the hang of it; it wasn’t long before I was manoeuvring the cars around the yard on my own and driving them onto the ramps and pits. I could never have imagined then, that my driving skills would bring me to Tanzania.

Anyway I digress. On the road we stop for lunch at places picked by the lads, one place we used was two large lorry containers with the sides cut out for serving hatches, stoves and fridges had been installed, a few plastic tables and chairs scattered about in the yard to sit on and that was it.

The first time I used one of these places; the waiter came over with a jug of hot water, hand soap and a bowl so I could wash my hands. I washed my hands, then ordered some food (I still put on my antibacterial hand gel; I had in my pocket, just in case) 

I won’t give you the address of this café’ it’s not the type of establishment you would find on a tourist map, I don’t think Gordon Ramsey will have too much to worry about, but Hey Ho, T I A

As I am here to work; getting out and about, doing the touristy thing; has not been on the agenda, so I have no real experience of Tanzania from that point of view, who knows; sometime in the future I might be able to return and explore a bit more. I’m not here on a jolly; I have a job to do, so just like home I retire around 10:30

The only other time I have visited Africa was to Morocco, many years ago.

There are a couple of things that have stayed with me about my trip to Morocco, one being the endless amount of bartering needed when buying anything or using a service, from a coffee to cab, from a beer to burger, it became very tiresome towards the end of that holiday I can tell you, can’t think why I have never returned!!

Another thing I remember about that holiday though, one night me and two of the lads were standing at the bar and the conversation turn towards a trip into the next local town, we decide that we would hire some push bikes, head off and see what it was like.

The barman, over hearing what we were talking about said he would be our guide if we wanted and of course we had to negotiate the fee.

Sure enough, the next day, three lads, three hangovers and one guide head off to town on our push bikes.

I can remember the town, with tall slim buildings, all painted white, the streets twisted and turned and were very narrow, with lots of nooks and crannies.

(I have no idea what a nook is and no idea what a crannie is) but put both words together and all becomes clear.

The guide wasn’t too bad to be fair; he pointed out lots of places of interest (some not so interesting) and was very knowledgeable about the town.

We decide to stop off for a cold drink and the guide suggested a place that he knew, it turn out that this place not only sold cold drinks it also sold every piece of tourist tat you could think of (I think he might have pulled this stunt before) the name of the place and I will never forget it was “Charlie’s Bazaar”

At Charlie’s we looked around the shop, if there was anything that caught our eye, it was put on a rug which was unrolled in the middle of the shop.

Once I had enough of this tat on the rug, Charlie and I sat on the rug cross legged and the bartering began, nothing was priced on an individual basis, it was sold as a job lot,

 I began the bartering at the equivalent of twenty quid and Charlie, far from impressed, raised his arms and said “Mr Sir, for that I wont be able to feed my family”

That was a phrase I would here again when I visited a street market in the second week of the holiday, but by this time though I was well versed in the art Bartering and a dismissive flick of the wrist was enough to deter any further negotiations, take it or leave it I said as I began to walk away, they usually took it.

I manage to get Charlie to take about thirty quid for the lot, even to this day I know I was ripped off, it happens on holidays doesn’t it?

My mate ended up spending around a hundred pounds though, among all the stuff he liked was an Afgan coat, do you remember them?  me and the other lad, had to bite our lips to stop ourselves laughing when we told him he look good in it, anyway he paid up.

When we got back to the UK, after about two weeks this coat started to smell like road kill, I think there was a problem with the tanning process; I never did see him wear that coat again.

Habari

Yet another sad day for some Tanzanian families. I have to tell you even more people have been killed in road traffic accidents.

According to the newspaper report, three people were killed and four others were injured, involving a fuel tanker and six other vehicles. It happened a stones throw from the hotel where I am staying.

The tanker driver was approaching a Dala Dala at pace, which had just set down some passengers, the Dala Dala driver moved away to re-join the carriage way, from my brief experience here of Dala Dala drivers, this would have been done with total disregard for following traffic, I have seen with my own eyes that they are simply not concerned about road safety, pulling out without a care in the world is common place.

To avoid hitting the Dala Dala the newspaper claimed “the truck spun out of control and flew over a kerb hitting six vehicles” also according to the newspaper an eye witness said “the tanker was driving at high speed”

The report went on to say: Regional Police Commander Charles Kenyela told reporters at the scene that one expectant mother and two men died on the spot, while the injured people were taken to hospital. The report also claimed that the accident happened at 1pm and people were rescued at 2pm!!

Commander Kenyela said “the driver of the fuel truck disappeared after the accident and was being sought by the police”

Attached to the newspaper article about this accident, is another report which stated: Last week at least 18 people including university students died in a road accident which involved a bus; that had collided head-on with a lorry.

Tanzanians need help; people are getting killed on the roads out here at an alarming rate. There are initiatives taking place, I know that because Metroline have sponsored me to be here. There was a bit of a buzz going around the institute the other day, I was told that a debate was taking place on transport issues and it would be live on the telly that night, so I know things are happening.

It wouldn’t be right of me as a Jonnie Foreigner to breeze into Tanzania like a cool wind, declaring a holiday saying “all you need to do is fix this, build that, buy this” I’m just a simple driving examiner, this place needs a lot of money to sort it out, so they need someone out there of real influence, who can say “fix this, build that, buy this”

How that’s going to be achieved I don’t know, the world is in a financial mess, austerity measure are biting hard at home, businesses and people are finding it hard to get by, something needs to be done though.

Maybe, I don’t know, they could start with the traffic police; I get the feeling and this is second hand info as I haven’t seen that many, the driving standards of a police officer are no better than that of the average motorist, because of this they have no way of knowing what makes a good driver; a bad driver or how to give motorists proper advice, if this is the case, then they also need proper training to be able to make sound judgements and convict offenders though the proper channels.

I have also been made aware that drivers are pulled over by the police from time too time and on the spot fines are issued for alleged misdemeanours; maybe, so I am told, when the Police learn how to issue receipts, they could channel that money somewhere else!!

Habari

This week has seen a number of people killed in road traffic accidents. While driving out of town on the main Morogoro road, traffic had come to a complete stand still.

I have spoken to the lads about following distances and introduced them to the two second rule. If you’re not familiar with the two second rule, it basically goes like this.

When following the lead vehicle on a single carriage way, duel carriage way or motorway, when that lead vehicle passes an inanimate object such as a bridge or road sign, say to yourself

“Only a fool breaks the two second rule” if you are still saying this while passing the inanimate object, then you are too close to the lead vehicle, of course, as road and weather condition change, it goes without saying, that the following distance must be increased.

To do this, don’t say to yourself, “only a fool breaks the four second rule” please, it doesn’t work like that, at least ten times the distance will be ok, however, use your common sense and give yourself plenty of room.  

I have also spoken to the lads about the following distance in queuing traffic and have told them about “tyres and tarmac” if you stop and can still see the rear wheels of the vehicle in front and some of the road, then you are just about the right distance from the lead vehicle.

It did raise a smile with the lads when all this was translated into Swahili, however, when any of the boys did get a bit close, to be fair it didn’t happen that often, all I had to say was “two seconds” and they soon pulled back, none of them wanted to be the fool.  

We now had no choice now but to join the queue of traffic, the driver stopped with plenty of room to move away, other motorist were out of their vehicles, talking quite loudly in Swahili to other people, waving their arms, becoming quite animated, I was told there had been an accident further down the road and it was completely blocked in both directions.

I later find out that four priests in a car had been killed, the driver overtook the lead vehicle and crashed head on into a lorry, the lorry driver survive, his injuries were not life threatening.

By the time the lads finished talking to some of the other motorist in Swahili, following traffic had joined the queue, however, the T&T lesson worked well, we managed to turn around and head back.

Peopled died that day, it brought it home to me yet again that life can be switched off in an instance, one mistake and it’s all gone, when you next drive a vehicle, how would you feel if you were held accountable for killing someone just because you were talking or sending a text on a mobile phone, switch the thing off, would the world stop turning if you didn’t make that call “no” exactly

Death is something that has been sitting on my shoulder for years, I think about the pain it brings every day of my life, I truly mean every day.

Losing someone in an accident which could have been prevented is terrible; the memory of losing someone you love; as I did when my sister was killed in a car crash is never far from my thoughts, particularly as I drive down Barnet by pass on my way home from Cricklewood, the very road where she was killed on.

Many people suffer bereavement, our first son Brett, died in 1978 as a result of Cystic Fibrosis he was only thirteen months old. I still remember playing peek a boo with him, I use to hold him in my arms and gently swing back and forth towards a mirror, he giggled so much it was lovely, I still have that mirror it hangs in my hallway, every day I pass it, I say boo into it, I hope he knows we still love him.

Our other son died aged 3 days old, he was born at Watford General Hospital in 1995 the doctors soon discovered that his internal organs had not developed as they should have, they told us he needed to go to Great Ormond Street Hospital straight away, I followed the ambulance and arrived a short time after they got there, my wife had to stay at Watford General, she was quite poorly. Great Ormond Street Hospital is the best of the best, they worked as hard as they possibly could to save Tom but it didn’t work out.

“Two tiny flowers lent not given, too bud on earth and bloom in heaven”

Metroline have a helpline available for all staff covering a wide range of issues, this includes bereavement counselling, if you are suffering bereavement at this moment I am sorry for your loss; but please give the helpline a call, they will be able to help ease your pain.

We do have a son, he was born in 1988 which makes him 23 years old, he’s a great lad and can eat for England and like any self respecting father, he has been brought up a gooner.

When he goes out in his car I always shout out “ A&P son A&P”
(Awareness & planning, he also holds a PCV licence)

I’m sure he’s fed up with me saying it, but I’m going to say it anyway.

Habari

Once all the bus checks had been completed it’s time to head out onto the road. I needed to find out exactly what I was dealing with and the first assessments gave me a clear understanding of the trainee’s needs, so I focused on the weaknesses observed and tailored the lesson plans on an individual basis.

After all, I only had one week with team one and had no time to mess about.

Late awareness and planning, when approaching buses, setting down or picking up passengers, needed to be addressed straight away, as these buses would often stop quickly with total disregard for following traffic.

The buses in Tanzania are called Dala Dala; they are small vehicles with twenty four seats.

The driver rents the Dala Dala from a local dealer, they are then responsible for the running costs, such as fuel and minor repairs; over sixty percent of Dala Dala drivers have no formal training what so ever.

The Dala Dala driver chooses the route he would like to operate, he contacts the local authorities and if there are not too many Dala Dala already serving that particular route, he is added to the list.

Journey times vary enormously, roughly speaking though, if a route at home was timed for forty minutes, that route here would regularly take two hours. Traffic jams are common place, the term “to allow traffic flow” is something most motorists in Tanzania don’t even think about.

The Dala Dala drivers are self employed, they also have to pay for the services of a conductor, although there are only twenty four seats in the Dala Dala, they cram in as many passengers as they can.

A typical fare is around twenty pence; yes twenty pence that’s not a typo and with fuel at around 80p a litre, you can understand why they need as many people on the vehicle as they can possibly get.

I’m was told by a trainee, some Dala Dala drivers inform passengers they are only going half way on that particular trip, when they get to the half way point, all the passengers alight, then moments later the driver changes his mind and says he’s now going the full distance, so passengers get back on and pay another 20p each. It’s against the rules but I’m told it happens.

As I get into the lessons, the lads awareness and planning improves quite nicely and they all began to understand, they need to Look, Assess, Decide and Act on what they observe and they do this with little prompting.

On two lane roads, Tanzanian drivers have a tendency to sit in the offside lane even if the nearside lane is clear, this is because they know at some point they will approach a Dala Dala driver setting down or picking up and it will save them the hassle of moving out and overtaking.

In the main the boys avoided doing this; however, it did pop up occasionally and a quick prompt given, sorted that out.

Now, here is your starter for ten “Unnecessarily using the offside lane, when the nearside is clear” results in:

(A) Other vehicles dangerously undertaking

(B) Other vehicles dangerously undertaking

                                or

(C) Other vehicles dangerously undertaking

 Answers on postcard please:

I am relying on the lads to navigate around town as I have no way of knowing which are the best roads to train on, I ask them to keep away from the town centre as congestion is at its highest there, they are happy to oblige.

They are a great bunch of lads and are very keen to learn, they have all told me how grateful they are to Metroline for allowing me to be out here training.

I get on even better with them, when I discover two of the lads are Arsenal supporters, the other lad supports Barcelona, who ever they are.

When traffic comes to a complete standstill and it often does, weaving in and out of the stationary traffic are street vendors, theses guys will sell a wide range of items from cold water, juices, clothes, fruit, toys, food, you name it and you can buy it from one of them.

Having thought about it, if this system was employed on my way home from Cricklewood, it would at least save me the weekly grind of going around Tescos or Morrison’s (other stores are available)

I was slightly concern though when I saw a young lad selling machetes, these things were over a foot long, honest, I am not exaggerating, they are shown around to the motorists to inspect and if they like what they see they buy them.

I have a quick chat with one of the lads about street crime and car jacking and why anyone would want to carry such a weapon, I got the feeling its more about the fear of crime, than crime itself.

Tanzanian people are great people; they are polite, courteous and appreciate the support given by companies like Metroline and others from all around the world who are willing to help and support their country.

I have already promised Neil Rettie, when my numbers come up on the euro lottery, I will donate a fully equipped and staffed training vehicle to the NIT to compliment the great work he and other members of Transaid do for the people of Tanzania.

Habari

The bus checking lessons go extremely well; my team are now well versed in demonstrating, conducting and teaching this exercise.

I’m confident that the team will be able to relay this lesson to their own trainee’s; Michael told me that there are many accidents on the roads and defective vehicles contribute towards them.

We all agreed that this lesson plan will go a long way in making drivers more aware of their vehicle checks.

The compound at the institute is not a large area; it’s dusty and littered with potholes it could certainly do with resurfacing. I want to get the team to practice the lesson plan on reversing.

There is not enough room for a reversing area similar to the one at Metroline; however, there is enough room for a right-lock reverse. I asked the lads to complete a reverse while I stood back and watched.

While one of the guys did the drive another walked behind the vehicle to make sure nobody got in the way, there are many students at the institute meandering around so this rear check is important.

Once the reverse was completed I asked the guys if they were happy with the manoeuvre and they all agreed it was ok. “Oh dear” I said, “lets start again and I will show you how to do it properly”

I then explained how I wanted them to complete the lesson and ultimately teach their own trainee’s as well. I signalled to the driver to bring the coach forward to the start positions, while one of the guys supervised the rear of the vehicle, I got another to stand with me and watch.

If anybody reading this (if there is anybody) knows how a reverse exercise is carried out at Metroline that is exactly the way I demonstrate this lesson to the lads. For those that don’t know; a vehicle being reversed should be under full control with effective observation (how a driver manages to hit something while reversing, is just plain incompetence)

I also instruct the driver to hit the horn three times before starting, this is not common practice (until now) it’s something I insist on and with the vehicle having no reverse bleeper, this becomes very important.

I rotate the lads in turn, each having the opportunity to drive, supervise at the rear and take the lead at the front. It doesn’t take too many goes before they are all up to speed and this lesson is boxed off, job done.