Sierra Leone bans right-hand vehicles

Sierra Leone has announced a ban on the import and use of right-hand drive vehicles, saying they posed a threat to road safety.

Only vehicles that are currently in shipment will be still registered and all vehicles must be converted by September 2014, the transportation ministry said in a statement.

The head of the Sierra Leone Road Transport Authority (SLRTA), Sarah Bendu, told AFP on Monday that “right hand vehicles are a threat to lives particularly as Sierra Leone roads are not designed for their use.”

Sierra Leone changed to left hand-drive vehicles in 1971.

She said nearly half of right-hand vehicles registered were quickly crashed as the driving position restricts vision.