塞拉利昂：想考驾照 先玩桌游

为了应对交通事故频发以及司机不遵守交通规则等问题，西非国家塞拉利昂近期推出新政，要求申请驾照人员在考试之前须先将一款名为“驾车者之路”的定制桌游玩通关。这款桌游中的骰子设计成了交通信号灯的颜色，玩家根据每次掷出的颜色来决定手中的车辆如何行进；另外游戏还涉及机动车检测和道路法规问答等环节。该游戏设计者、塞拉利昂助理总警监表示，很多人不喜欢阅读，如果把道路交通法规用年轻人喜欢的游戏形式表现出来，或许会对交通规则的普及有所帮助。塞拉利昂的交通秩序很混乱，机动车未得到适当保养，很多地区的道路也损毁严重，国内交通信号灯没有一个是正常的。去年，该国登记在案的2204起交通事故导致380人死亡。这款游戏用品在印度生产，价值约14美元，所有驾照申请人员需自行购买游戏用品并玩通关以后才可以参加驾照考试。不过一位租车行业人士表示，只要有钱，不用参加考试也能拿到驾照。

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Their cars must negotiate obstacles like "vehicle tests" that result in fines if a windscreen is broken or insurance is out of date.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".