Rwanda National Police has urged motorcyclists to have headlights at all times of the day while on the road to prevent accidents.

Taxi-moto operators told The New Times that they were asked by the police to have the headlights on even during daytime starting Thursday, August 10 and that failure to obey would result in penalties.

"This is not the first time they ask us to keep our lights on all day. But we don't like to have the lights on for so long because bulbs burn out so easily due to high temperature that you may end up having to repair them three times in one month," said Thomas Hakizimana, a taxi motorcyclist based in Kigali.

He added that keeping the lights on all day makes taxi motorcyclists spend more on fuel than if the lights were switched on only at night.

Speaking to The New Times on Friday, Traffic Police spokesperson, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) René Irere, said the order to have lights on has been in place for more than 20 years, only that the motorbike operators had not conformed to it.

"There is nothing new about the obligation to have lights all the time the motorbikes and moped bikes are on the road. Motorcyclists know it very well and they learnt about it even when they took tests for the driving licence," Irere said.

He cited a 2002 presidential decree regulating the traffic police and road traffic that says "dim lights of motorbikes and mopeds which move on the public way must be used every time and in all circumstances."

Irere said that due to the size and swiftness of motorcycles, riders should always keep the dim lights on to make sure that other road users notice them easily, which prevents accidents.

He added that the reason behind the renewed call is an increasing number of electric motorcycles that don't not make noise, making it a bit harder for other road users to notice them.

A motorcyclist found with the dim lights off while on the road is fined Rwf10,000.

As part of its road safety campaign, the police have recently been asking passenger bus drivers to have interior lights on at night.

Though it is not related to the obligation on motorcyclists, Irere said both are meant to maintain public safety on the road.

"We have had people complain about theft and inappropriate touching by strangers while on passenger buses, and we have to make sure that people are safe while on buses at night," he noted.

According to 2021 regulations by Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA), if a passenger bus driver is found with the interior lights off, they have to pay a fine of Rwf20,000.

Some drivers said, however, that keeping the interior lights on at night can make it hard for them to see, and potentially lead to accidents.