Reflections on Vulgarity and Reckless Driving on the Public Roads in Juba City, South Sudan

By Madit Them Arop, Juba, South Sudan

Introduction

Wednesday, 20 August 2025 (PW) — This reflective approach to bad driving on public roads in Juba City tries to highlight on repudiation to follow traffic rules and regulations in the capital where the concern state authority seems to care-less about the matter. Journalists only report accidents and other relevant concerns besides the traffic disfavour behaviour in the city. Scholars also look away at the traffic issue probably because they see it as “a never urgent matter” to address. Since independence, no known single scholar tried to bring up the issue, and up to date, no comprehensive plan on the topic except the enacted Traffic Act(s).

The write up is not a research work, it’s an observational opinion based on behaviour of the road users in Juba and other parts of the country. Findings points at the state failure to prepare the population on traffic rules and regulatory orders right from the inception. Indicators also illustrated that the population heavily relies on “traffic common sense” interlaced to “normative values” when using the public roads in the country.   

The lead query to this reflective approach is why road users have difficulty to share the public roads when in fact sharing is like a normative thing in South Sudan. The government may pay civil servants once in a year; however, living is still somehow meaningful without salaries. Collaboration and cooperation make it possible for the majority to see the next day in the country. Sharing makes South Sudanese so unique, and such distinctiveness illustrates survivability and reliability on each other. Without sharing spirit, hope would have vanished and the majority would have succumbed to deteriorated economic hardships in the country. 

Contrarily, public roads are one of the places in Juba City where everyone seems equipped with extra energy when leaving home. Right at the door steps, behaviour change, rules change, and humility’s norm changes. Noticeably, users could twist arms on the roads because they had eye contacts. Other users discharge saliva of anger at each other when the explosive spirit is still unprepared to ignite. Name callings, finger pointing, and muscles showing are daily hatchets on the streets of Juba. Road users growls and barks thunderously at one another as if the world is about to end. Vehicles’ windows are rolled down to show muscles’ strength as users forcefully brawl to have access to the way.

Sleeves’ rolling is so common mainly when accidents occur. Arguing over who is right and who has faulted during an accident stretches on for a while, no one concedes easily, both users would claim the guiltless. Strangely, accidental mistakes are accepted through a third-party’s-like intervention. People would gather at the scenes and pass judgment about the incident to the road user believed to be at fault, and thereafter, the truth is realized and the mistaken person would admit without fear or worry.

Why Are Road Accidents Quarrelsome?

Road users have expressed that lack of strong traffic rules have pushed individuals to choose defence. In other words, the absence of sturdy rules is partially replaced with defence self-rules. If resistible mode is not applied at the time of the accident, the other party is feared to have beaten up the mistaken folks. Public views revealed that “people don’t resist, they defend themselves to allow the neutral party like the police or other users to intervene such that they are able to neutralize the situation.” 

It’s carefully elaborated that “whoever is at fault knows the mistake, but it’d be unwise to underestimate the reaction with soft response. Cautiously, one may admit guilt while expecting the other party to understand, and if the retort is hostile, resisting is intact.” Indicators revealed that accidents are chaotic when four things are involved. One, when the mistaken user denied the responsibility, two, when the reaction of the affected victim(s) is negative or reckless, three, the severity of the tragedy, and four, authority’s biasness.  

There are those who handle accidents with emotions or rigidity. Such behaviour encourages the situation to escalate. In their mind, it’s translated that the accident was intended, or the victim might not be well again; others take it as personal. And whenever bitter words are exchanged back and forth by the parties involved, understanding becomes different or even difficult. In the middle of discussion, for instance, words are believably twisted and forcefully put into the mouths of the faulted group, with the intention to increase the guilt in an undesirable manner. Once the situation reaches this peak, justification stands irrelevant to illustrate the real picture of the matter.

 When the affected party senses an unrealistic attitude, like being seen small and inconsiderate, then they could choose to go wild! Other moments relate to how the police handle the situation. Mostly, friends or elites have different menus in front of rules or laws. Elites elbow threats to submerge the matter in order to get away blameless. Favouritism nests friends clean since Power and Money takes mucus out of the dirty face!

Once the police allowed opinions which divided the parties in classes or on connections lines, the upshot became impractical and terrifying to solve. As a result, the accidental fatigue renewed especially when rules are divisively applied. Quite shockingly, at this point, the police role become an empty shell. Meaning, to enforce rules with fear or favour, the effect rests heavily on self-defence. So, biasness or refusal to admit the mistakes brands accidental scenes confrontational and argumentative, and such makes quarrels on the road an option to keep.

Who Are Laws or Rules Made For?

Such accidental behaviour exists, according to the public view, since public rules are weak, and Law Enforcement Agents appear to be relaxing the rules. Agents are publicly being witnessed pleading with road users to accept what they wanted them to do. Sometimes, the user could refuse to comply or pay attention to the officers in uniforms, because, in their mind, there is nothing neutral in how the agents enforce rules across the board.

In return, statements like: “Do you know who I am, or who are you to stop me or tell me what to do,” are unmissed responses on public roads. In Juba, nobody is apparently weak or small on the public roads. Road users could proudly identify him/her self as general, politician, an MP, ambassador, business person, and list goes.

The titles have roles. They fall under the umbrella of the “big people.” Such introductions are intimidatory at one point, and they stand as a reminder of who you are dealing with on the other. With no proper rules and guidance, citizens have chosen to believe in themselves rather than in whatever state required. In this view, it’s realistically clear that the state failed to prepare the population on traffic rules and other state norms right after the secession.

Thus, the majority have taken power into their own hands. Whenever on the road, one must be irrepressible to anything.  Sure examples are “good boys” who could be drivers or guards of the big people. From their own perspectives, they are big too and important; they use power to protect themselves or frighten law enforcement officers in order to avoid consequences or wrongdoings.

The organized forces also topfull on traffic disobedient list like other users. Though they are law enforcement agents, they are difficult to comply with the rules or stop whenever required. Based on their behaviour, they are the rules! Police on duty only salute them or bellow whistle louder to stop other cars in their favour. At will, they can pass wrongly at an abnormal speed whether they are going for duty or returning to the base. Whenever they are involved in an accident, for instance, it’s observably rare for them to stop or take full responsibility or admit guilt. The safest rule for other users is to avoid them or timely give them the way whenever they intend to.

Besides the uniform class, the ordinary drivers are not in isolation. By “ordinary” here, it applies to the common population without “special titles.” This population also follows the traits. Reckless driving is behaviour that applies across the country. “GYM BOYS” with muscular built bodies, for example, are generally said to be the lucky ones under the ordinary. They are not intimidated or told to back down. They are hard to comply with an officer’s whistle.

Whenever they are stopped, a good number would roll down the window just to be seen and would talk in a soaring voice. Featuring on the physical look; nevertheless, the officer would signal them to leave. In this illustration, power is in the muscles never in the uniforms or whistles. Precisely, rules are made to govern every living person in a particular country. But in South Sudan, particularly in Juba City, rules are selectively enforced, that’s why it’s so stressful to unceasingly remain experiencing incessant radical violations of the same rules daily, a difficult situation required drastic action on the compromised rule of law in the country.

Relaxed Rules Are Ineffective Rules

It’s conclusively true to say the system is blunt to enforce the rules and orders. It’s commonly known: unenforced rules are ineffective rules! In the country, almost everyone takes rules into their own hands because the police system is ineffective to handle the unoriented population. At some points, the police apply selective enforcement of rules on the violators. The result has likely birthed resistance or disobeying to listen to the police. The police are not taken seriously whenever they try to enforce the relaxed rules again.

 Basic rules and safety signages appear meaningless in the city. {Traffic lights, speed limits, one-way signs, yield signs, stop signs, speed bumps, pedestrians & animals crossings, school zones, hospital areas, army barracks, markets, prisons, residential areas, and many more that are related to safety} are observed and ineffectively obeyed.

Other safety road features, such as ambulances, honking or sirens usage, airport, missions (NGOs), roundabouts, vehicle seatbelts, tailgating, all are loosely enforced. At most, the government officials use their authoritative power to go about on the roads; on the other hand, only official areas are securely strict to safety.

 Those who deliberately violate the rules are openly identified as “the responsible people.” Worldwide, to operate a motor vehicle, one must have registration and other requirements completed in order to be on the road.

In South Sudan, cars are driven with “covered license plates,” particularly on the streets of Juba. Owners of such vehicles “knowingly” violated the rules, and police can’t do anything because they are “untouchable.” Some could be their bosses or people within the chain of leadership who should be exemplary instead. Tampering with them, it’s believed, resistance is met but to insist on, one would lose the job over trying to correct the wrong thing.    

Police experience uncontrollable rage from users whenever road duties are exercised. Other times police are driven off by the behaviour of drivers, and would physically accept to fight back whenever confronted. The unenforced rules have become so insignificant to handle road users on the public roads. Relaxed rules are easily ignored; the outcome is equally frustrating and deeply full with setbacks inflexible to restore, which illustrates traffic rules exist in a vacuum in Juba City and largely in the entire country.

Motorbikes and Tuk-tuks: The Masters of Recklessness in Juba City

Random motorcycles and rickshaws (tuk-tuks) commercially used behave as if the animals called “rules” and “regulations” have never crossed their paths. Earlier then, when rickshaw numbers were still low in Juba, the public would silently pray for more rickshaws over the motorbikes. Bikes elbowed weird behaviour the commoners felt unneeded to continue.

Motorbikes disobey rules beyond description; majority rides as if there is nothing to care about. They speed up, they suddenly stop or make wrong turns. After God blesses the town with more rickshaws, one would wish to reverse the requested call from the mighty nature who probably listened! Rickshaws became extremely worse or equally the same as that of motorcycles.

 Both rickshaws and bikes don’t follow the rules. They run on the edge or between marked traffic lanes. They irresponsibly change direction in careless form in an unbelievable attitude; they go right or left or overtake in an unrealistic manner. The main aim is perhaps to drop off or pick up passengers or simply get in front. At other moments, tuk-tuks can stop suddenly or proceed without stopping completely or abruptly turn and stop in the middle of the road.

All they care about is what they are pursuing or aiming at the opportunity space they see ahead. They suicidally make sure they squeeze in between the cars. Safety is not seen in their driving modes. Trying to stop or block them is risky for a sensible person to do. Without fear, they could knock themselves against the vehicles or on an unfortunate note, drivers may run over them if extra caution is not applied. Car drivers must stop for them or give up their right of way to spare their lives. One of the road users shockingly described them: “they have no difference with flies!”

Every day, accidents involving motorbikes or tuk-tuks happen due to reckless driving, and they are always the victims! Motor vehicle drivers, especially the ones driving commercial vans or buses, are not quarantined in this drivable mess. Certain behaviours are physically shocking whenever entangling on the roads. Some drivers drive as if they have title deeds over the public roads, most particular, the government officials. Their reckless behaviour adds difficulties to how the public roads are supposed to function. Drivers mindlessly refuse to give way to other users. They desire to stop other drivers from getting in front unless manoeuvrable force is applied. 

Undeniably, several drivers have no patience. They accelerate faster whenever there is a car trying to join the road. While doing that, flashing warning headlights are projected to signal rejections in an unspeakable way. Getting in front of such a vehicle(s) is as if one would take away luck or the oxygen breathable pipe would get blocked.

Road sharing in Juba City is the simplest thing the population seems to have refused to understand. Roads are congested daily due to refusal to follow the rules. Juba is not like Kampala, from the majority perspective, in terms of road networks, but Juba is at stake because rules have no room in the nerves of the population. Juba road users have nothing satisfying them except the behaviour they have chosen while on the road.  

A great number of the road users are rude and impatience with don’t care like attitudes. Precisely, public drivers’ attitude and that of rickshaws or motorbikes as a whole, are jointly intertwined. Both users have made rules optional in the country, a portraying unlegislated image hard to bear unless strict rejuvenation of the rules, by the state, are restructured.

Training Deficiency on Traffic Rules and Regulations!

The majority of the drivers in the country learn how to drive without traffic rule-based training. Private schools independently offer commercial training and driving permits. Parents or friends with no traffic background train learners. Rules believably get compromised in such well-intended exercise. When licenses are offered in this way, road examinations are critically loosened, and graduated citizens join the roads without proper skills in driving, rules become unbridged, which validates state failure to restrict offering of the driving permits to the learning population.

Reckless driving in Juba City is due to improper training, a disease which will remain incurable unless the population is reoriented on the importance of rules and regulations. Generally, the setbacks began with the interim period to independence. The population had the country, earned resources, and everything became affordable to own. Cars and motorcycles taken out of the commercial lots after independence had no required procedures to follow. Once a vehicle or motorbike is owned, the user starts driving with zero training on traffic rules and regulatory orders. Such users become the common road users until date, and new users continue to join in the same loosened way.

Lack of both training and orientations on traffic rules have led to irresponsible behaviour seen on the public roads in Juba. Wrestling on the road is an empty big deal hard to reduce unless re-orientations with strict inductions on rules and regulations are tightened and enforced without reservations by the state.   

Conclusion and Recommendable Findings State Has to Improve or Implement

1. The State Didn’t Prepare the Population on Traffic Rules and Regulations. South Sudan seceded and moved on without plans and stayed unprepared to enlighten the population on what it means to have a country with the Republic Traffic Rules and Orders. Excitement could have led to enjoyment of dividends or freedom achieved after a long war on marginalization and neglect of the Southern Region. State authority must adjust and reintroduce the Traffic Rules and Regulations to the public to swiftly address the training gaps on rules & regulations in the country.

• State Selectively Enforce Rules, leads to ignorance or resistance. Titles and wealth mislead the population. Law enforcement agents fear titles and wealth others have acquired. The officers have forgotten that law is above poor or rich. Every citizen is to abide by the rules of the state. Lack of genuine enforcement have added chaos and have lowered legal personnel roles over the local population. The state must enforce law and orders/rules uniformly without fear or compromise!

• Traffic Police Directorate Loosely Trains the Road Users. Failure to produce Traffic Police Booklet and Centres for Training speaks volume about the directorate of traffic in the country. While on the road, the population relies on common sense, because there is nothing to refer to or guide them. Private companies acquired approvals on their own to commercially train citizens who are willing to have driving permits. The majority of such companies’ backgrounds may not have the requirements that qualify them. Whoever with money, is authorised to put up the commercial centre influx by the locals. Others privately train and start driving without extensive examination done to them. Lately, after repeated deadly accidents by the commercial water tankers, for example, the directorate of traffic, in return, started to allocate small space in Buluk, the Police HQs. That is not doing enough from the public view. It’s not enlightening, it’s never meeting the expectations, and it’s not comprehensive enough to accommodate the populace’s attendees in their real numbers. More visible traffic training centres across the country would helpfully disseminate the service and would make life much easier to citizens. Rules base training must be strictly required and remain enforced!

• No Consistent Active Legal Punishment/Penalty to Law Violators. Absence of systematic fines to violators have increased recklessness on the streets. Weak citizens with no money or power to defend themselves are forced to pay. Others are not held accountable whenever they commit mistakes. Citizens have taken this as an opportunity to resist or misbehave. The state must improve in expanding or developing a legal punishable framework or system that holds violators accountable, finable, and indictable. 

• Knock Behind Rule: Worst rule ever! Police interrogatively focus on who was behind when an accident happened. This reflects failure to know how the accident occurred. Rush conclusion is reached without being investigated. Some drivers, for instance, could jump onto the road or make a blind turn hard to avoid an accident! Under this rule, behaviour of the driver is supposed to be known first, but it’s unconsidered in most of the accidental cases. The question, like: How did it happen rather than why it happened is a valid guiding question. Practically, the police ask blatantly misleading questions, such as “why did you knock behind?” “You are at fault,” “where were you looking at?” “You have failed to pay attention!” The knock behind rule has contributed to reckless driving in the city. This rule should be abolished or loosely kept in case it might be needed in certain circumstances; however, it should not be used as the universal base rule. The behaviour of the driver(s), which led to an accident is the starting point, and the police must stop focusing on the why question. Instead, the police should stick to how the accident happened such that the investigative approach serves both parties with truth and fairness in a systematic manner under the regulatory law.

• Rules Relaxed on Elites: in return, ordinary people resist to protect or fight for themselves. The police must start answering this question: who are laws or rules made for? If it’s for every person residing in the country, then elites and ordinary people are liable to wrongdoings! The law is horizontally for all, and elites must have equal punishable fines and stand bookable by law!

• Re-orient & Retrain Traffic Police Personnel on Ethics, Principles, and Regulations. Show traffic personnel their roles, the limitations, and when and how and why certain norms or rules are necessary, maybe doable, or may not at certain times while delivering public legal services to the population in the country. 

Until the state rejuvenates orientation on Traffic Rules and legally put-up punishable fines entails when violations happen on the streets, will the city realize gradual harmony to use roads responsibly and lawfully in the country. The Directorate of Traffic Police must roll up its sleeves to improve on training of the population on the Republic Rules and Norms, and erect training centres accessible in Juba and across the country. Produce South Sudan Traffic Rules and Regulations Booklet that would be available, readable, and implementable under the learning phase and would remain usable as a living rule of law in the Republic.

The contributor is an observer and a concerned citizen under the law. Comments & questions can be directed to WhatsApp +211910001820. For more info, visit the Traffic Police Directorate in person or online: South Sudan Police Services (www.ssps.gov).  

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