Road Safety Action International Commends LNP’s Special Enforcement Unit: A Game-Changer for Road Safety in Liberia
As Liberia continues to grapple with the devastating human and economic toll of road traffic crashes, the recent bold initiative by the Liberia National Police (LNP) to establish a Special Traffic Enforcement Unit marks a watershed moment in the country’s road safety efforts. Road Safety Action International (RSAI) wishes to extend its profound commendation to Inspector General Gregory O.W. Coleman, whose leadership and ingenuity led to the creation of this much-needed unit. Equally, we laud the exceptional dedication of Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Cooper and his team, whose relentless efforts have brought new visibility, discipline, and seriousness to traffic enforcement across Monrovia and beyond.
As a civil society institution working to improve road safety in Liberia, we recognize that road safety is built on the Three Es:
The LNP’s Special Enforcement Unit addresses the often-neglected third pillar — enforcement — which is critical to ensuring that education and engineering interventions yield meaningful and sustained results. While RSAI, alongside partners, continues to invest heavily in road safety education, awareness campaigns, and multi-stakeholder dialogues, we have always maintained that without robust enforcement, these efforts will only achieve limited impact. Compliance with traffic laws must be non-negotiable. In this regard, the Special Enforcement Unit is a timely and strategic intervention that strengthens the nexus between Engineering, Education, and Enforcement — the very foundation of a safe road environment.
The Unit’s early successes, as highlighted in today’s edition of the Daily Observer Newspaper, are commendable. Over 1,300 citations issued in a single month, coupled with targeted enforcement along major traffic corridors (RIA Highway, Kakata Highway, Central Monrovia), signal a proactive shift in traffic management. We are particularly encouraged by the use of Doppler radars and modern enforcement tools—this represents a much-needed move towards data-driven, intelligent enforcement practices.
RSAI calls on all stakeholders — the Government of Liberia, the private sector, the media, and civil society — to support the LNP’s enforcement drive. This is not about revenue generation; as IG Coleman rightly stated, the mission is public safety. A safe road environment requires shared responsibility. We urge the LNP to ensure that this momentum is institutionalized and sustained beyond short-term operations. Fairness, transparency, and public trust must be at the heart of enforcement. Meanwhile, we encourage the public to embrace this initiative as an essential step towards safer roads, not as an adversarial move.
RSAI envisions a future where Engineering, Education, and Enforcement work in harmony to drastically reduce road crashes and save lives. The Special Enforcement Unit is a vital bridge in this equation. We look forward to deepening our collaboration with the LNP to amplify public awareness, support community policing approaches to road safety, and jointly monitor the impact of enforcement activities. Together, we can make Liberia’s roads safer for everyone. The era of impunity on our roads must come to an end — and with leadership from the LNP and collective national will, it surely can.
Road Safety Action International
Email: info@roadsai.org