2“If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the world. You will experience all these blessings if you obey the Lord your God:
3Your towns and your fields will be blessed.
4Your children and your crops will be blessed. The offspring of your herds and flocks will be blessed.
5Your fruit baskets and breadboards will be blessed.
6Wherever you go, and whatever you do, you will be blessed.” – Deuteronomy 28:2-6
Drive as if your children walk on these streets. – Street signs in neighborhoods in the USA.
In its recent public announcement titled “Most Common Road Offenses & Charges in Malawi 2026 by the Road Traffic Commission (CAP.69:01), should it prove to be true, the 20-point List is peppered with charge figures that are killers, prohibitive and ridiculous, of no use or no value, wrongly-worded, and some prone to abuse by the public or law enforcers.
Many are lowly configured, and others are way too high for the offence. There is definitely a great need to create ways and means to make travelling in Malawi safer and to make Malawians a more responsive and committed community of road users, whether behind the wheels of a car/truck, or on foot.
There are in total 9 killer charges, 6
prohibitive and ridiculous charges, 4 of no use charges, 2 prone to abuse charges, and one wrongly-worded charge on the Road Offence and its Prescribed Fine/Fee. The List and fines, along with suggestions, are herein provided:
1. About the Killer Fees
i. Failure to properly display number plates/vehicle identification. Malawians are asked to pay MwK100,000.00, which is too little and should be K200,000.00. This would hinder or obstruct carjackers or kidnappers from getting away with their shenanigans and evil schemes.
ii. Using a phone while driving charges are pegged at K50,000.00, and is another small fee for an offense with massive grave potential to kill oneself or other road users. The charge could rightly be K150,000.00.
iii. No seat belt is another killer; while the deaths is that of passengers in the vehicle, the prescribed fee of K15,000,00 per passenger is too little and does not deter disobedience. The fee could be pegged at K50,000.00 for a vehicle, and the fee is to be paid by the driver. This makes drivers more responsible for the passengers they carry.
iv. Speeding charge of 20,000.00-90,000.00 is too small and could be raised to K100,000.00. Additionally, the charge must be paid at the Road Traffic offices, with no differentiation on excessiveness. Speeding is speeding.
v. No certificate of fitness (COF) charge is another low fee of K50,000.00 that has the potential to kill and could be raised to K150,000.00.
vi. An unroadworthy vehicle also has a low fee of K50,000.00, which has the potential to kill and could be raised to K150,000.00.
vii. Failure to obey road signs is the third low fee of K50,000.00, which also has the potential to kill and could also be raised to K150,000.00.
viii. Dangerous overtaking has the fourth low fee of K50,000.00, which again, also has the potential to kill and should be raised to K100,000.00.
ix. Driving while texting/calling is the fifth charge with the low fee of K50,000.00, and, like speaking while driving, has the potential to kill, could be raised to K150,000.00.
2. The Prohibitive and Ridiculous Fees
i. Driving without a license prescribed charge nosedives into the prohibitive domain at K200,000.00 and could also swiftly move into the prone-to-abuse land. It is being suggested that this offense is made K100,000.00 with a due date, and thereafter K10,000.00 per day until the license is produced.
ii. Using an unregistered vehicle has the prohibitively high charge of K100,000.00. The charge should be K50,000.00, and a due by date that also has a daily K5,000.00 per day fee
iii. No insurance (PSV) charge is pegged at K800,000.00; it is suggested that this be K300,000.00 with the daily K20,000.00 until the insurance portfolio is produced.
iv. No insurance (private vehicles) is pegged at K100,000.00 and ridiculous; it is suggested that this be K150,000.00 with the daily K10,000.00 until the insurance portfolio is produced.
v. Carrying unsecured goods/load charge of K100,000.00 be given over to the City and Urban administration. In rural areas, carrying unsecured loads is the norm.
vi. Throwing rubbish from a vehicle, a charge of K50,000.00 should also be given over to the City and Urban administrations.
3. About the No-Use or No-Value Fees
i. Parking illegally or causing obstruction attracts a K30,000.00; the offense should attract the attention of the City or Urban officials to tow the vehicle away – at the owner’s expense.
ii. Riding a motorcycle without a helmet attracts a K30,000.00 charge, which is ridiculous; this should be a K10,000.00 at each citing.
iii. Hooting unnecessarily lies in the ears of the beholder, and K30,000.00 is ridiculous; the framers could consider reducing the fee to K10,000.00.
iv. No warning triangles, fire extinguishers, or spare tires have a K10,000.00 charge per missing item; the offence can be added to the Certificate of Fitness offence.
4. Prone to Abuse
i. Failing to stop for traffic officers attracts a fine of K50,000.00, with the high potential of abuse from drivers and police officers. The charge could be reworded to “Resist arrest” and a charge of K150,000.00.
ii. Drunk driving carries a penalty of “up to K300,000.
5. Wrongly-Worded Charge
i. Carrying excess passengers on a motorcycle, the prescribed fee is K20,000.00 per passenger. The first thought that comes to mind is not of three adult passengers on the motorcycle, but two adult passengers and a baby.
The drafters of the Prescribed Offences and Penalties could consider rewording the provision, so babies riding with their parents are never charged K20,000.00.
Drive safely on the roads of Malawi.