The authorities have blood on their hands. It’s the only way to describe their continued inaction on the issue of road safety.

Last week, seven people lost their lives in traffic accidents and, unless something truly dramatic happens, our roads are going to continue exacting a toll that is grossly disproportionate with the size of the population. The crux of the matter is that Mauritian road users – from pedestrians and cyclists to drivers of luxury sedans and trucks – don’t give a fig about their safety and that of others.

This suicidal tendency is only compounded by a complete disdain for traffic cops. The only way for them to change this will be to carry a very big stick indeed, a decision that they seem patently disinclined to make.

The inescapable truth is that we need a points system for drivers’ licenses and we need it now. Having to pay a fine for traffic infractions is a great way to fill the State coffers, but it doesn’t really act as a deterrent in the long term, which, of course, is the whole point. We need a strong preventative measure to make drivers think twice about driving like maniacs.

Naturally, such a system will be largely useless without enough feet on the ground to enforce it. But here again, our approach is a complete failure. You see, it’s not enough to simply set a speed trap here and there the police urgently have to begin sanctioning reckless driving.

For that to happen though, they have to be proactive and indiscriminating: everyone - from the motorcyclist who who’s driving at night without a backlight to the show-off in daddy’s car zigzagging between vehicles – needs to feel the long arm of the law. More importantly, they need to fear it. This will only be truly effective with a points system under which the guilty party risks losing his (or her) license for repeated infractions.

We also need to make it much harder to get the precious piece of paper in the first place, so that new drivers actually have a clue about driving rather than about how to stick their arms out at stop signs.

And, of course, education, education and education! This might all sound a little drastic but the situation has reached epidemic proportions.

Sadly, the authorities seem to have largely given up on doing something about it. How do I know?

Well, the raft of tepid half-measures aimed more at making a media splash than at striking the fear of a messy death into road users is a rather good indication. Come on: what’s the story of the billboard campaign featuring that bizarre looking woman? Is that how we’re going to get people to clean up their acts? And what about the prime minister’s special advisor co-launching a contest on a networking site where people go to play Mafia Wars and tend to imaginary animals? That’ll definitely stop people from driving like idiots. What’s next?

Perhaps the Road Safety Unit could sponsor the next Grand Theft Auto. It could be called “Mauritius, it’s a pleasure (especially, if you happen to drive a monster truck)”.

So, yes, the authorities have blood on their hands.

It’ll be interesting to see if they bother to try to clean it off. If not, we’ll all just be road kill waiting to happen.