• Public service drivers must comply with RTSA’s directive to have LED lights removed.
• The LED lights pose a threat to other road users and drivers in particular.
• LED lights can easily manipulate the visibility and sight of other road users.

Bus and Taxi Drivers Association of Zambia said public service drivers must comply with the Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) directive to stop the use of Light Emitting Diode (LED) lights on their vehicles.
Speaking in an interview with Money FM News, Association Secretary General Sydney Mbewe noted that the use of LED lights that are being mounted on public vehicles such as buses is a threat to other motorists.
“It is very dangerous for any vehicle to have anything other than what is prescribed to be on a vehicle whether public or public cars. When a person that is driving sees another strange thing on a vehicle, their attention will be focused on that particular item forgetting that they are driving and could cause an accident,” Mr. Mbewe said.
He added that, “We have also seen a very huge abuse of LED lights that have been introduced on the market where even when somebody is braking, there is plenty of fancy lights even when putting up indicators and you can’t even know what the driver is trying to signal out to other motorists.”
Mr. Mbewe disclosed that LED lights can easily manipulate the visibility and sight of other road users which can eventually result in traffic accidents, thereby putting the lives of many at risk.
“In the night it is even worse because we have these LED lights that flash into your face and the visibility is disturbed.”
RTSA is on the right track to come up with the regulation and instruction that any vehicle that is found with this type of lights should remove them especially for the public passenger vehicles because these are vehicles that carry a lot of lives at a given time.”
Recently, Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) called for the removal of LED lights on both public and private vehicles as they pose a high risk of causing accidents.