塞拉利昂：想考駕照 先玩桌遊

爲了應對交通事故頻發以及司機不遵守交通規則等問題，西非國家塞拉利昂近期推出新政，要求申請駕照人員在考試之前須先將一款名爲“駕車者之路”的定製桌遊玩通關。這款桌遊中的骰子設計成了交通信號燈的顏色，玩家根據每次擲出的顏色來決定手中的車輛如何行進；另外遊戲還涉及機動車檢測和道路法規問答等環節。該遊戲設計者、塞拉利昂助理總警監表示，很多人不喜歡閱讀，如果把道路交通法規用年輕人喜歡的遊戲形式表現出來，或許會對交通規則的普及有所幫助。塞拉利昂的交通秩序很混亂，機動車未得到適當保養，很多地區的道路也損毀嚴重，國內交通信號燈沒有一個是正常的。去年，該國登記在案的2204起交通事故導致380人死亡。這款遊戲用品在印度生產，價值約14美元，所有駕照申請人員需自行購買遊戲用品並玩通關以後纔可以參加駕照考試。不過一位租車行業人士表示，只要有錢，不用參加考試也能拿到駕照。

Sierra Leone has launched a new policy aimed at curbing road accidents that kill hundreds every year - a board game that anyone seeking a driving license must buy and play before being allowed on the roads.

Competitors move models of classic cars around the board after rolling traffic light-themed dice. Their cars must negotiate obstacles like "vehicle tests" that result in fines if a windscreen is broken or insurance is out of date.

Players must also answer questions on road laws.

"It will help a lot," said Morie Lenghor, Assistant Inspector General of the police and the game's creator. "Most crashes here are a result of ignorance of the highway code. And most drivers don't even understand half the road signs.

"I realized that a lot of people don't like reading much, but what if I can put the highway code in a game that is attractive to young people?"

The Drivers' Way is manufactured in India and costs 60,000 Leones, about US$14. Three thousand copies have already been imported.

"It's played a bit like Scrabble," said Sarah Bendu, Executive Director of Sierra Leone's Road Transport Authority and an avid player of the game.

"They (novice drivers) will have to pay for it. Then they will play it for two or three months, or maybe just one if they're smart enough, then they will come for their test." There are plans for an online version which will be marketed throughout West Africa.

Balogun Koroma, Sierra Leone's transport minister, said the game was a "light-hearted way for people to learn road signs".

Driving in Sierra Leone is often reckless, vehicles poorly maintained and roads severely degraded in many areas. The country has no working traffic lights.

More than 380 people were killed in 2,204 registered road accidents in Sierra Leone last year.

Many drivers say they never had to take a test. "If you have the money it's easy," said an official in the car-hire industry. "Most people here do not take tests".