78 RECKLESS DRIVERS DISCIPLINED (MIRROR, PAGE 39, NOV 20, 2010)

A TOTAL of 78 drivers in the Sunyani Municipality of the Brong Ahafo Region have been arrested by personnel of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service for recklessness and indiscipline during a special pre-X’mas exercise to clamp down on drivers who contravened road traffic rules and regulations.
Out of the number, 63 were processed to appear before various courts in the municipality, 33 were fined between GH¢70 and GH¢300. Bench warrants were issued by the courts for the arrest of 19 of them and five were, however, cautioned and discharged.
The exercise, which the police said would continue, was aimed at ensuring that accidents which normally occurred during Christmas were drastically reduced to the barest minimum or prevented.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Wesley Baah, the Brong Ahafo Regional Commander of the MTTU, told The Mirror in an interview that, 15, of the drivers were also issued with warning letters and explained that some of the drivers were plying the roads without their driving licenses while others had not equipped their vehicles with fire extinguishers and advanced warning triangles.
Mr Baah also intimated that some of the drivers were using worn-out tyres, others had overloaded, some were driving without road worthiness certificates, speeding, driving without insurance or expired certificates and many other offences, which according to him, were the cause of many accidents on the roads.
The MTTU Commander disclosed that the checks were mounted on the Sunyani- Kumasi, Sunyani-Techiman and the Sunyani-Berekum highways as well as the Sunyani-Odumase road, in collaboration with officials of the National Road and Safety Commission (NRSC) and the Driver, Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA).
He pointed out that as Christmas was fast approaching, the three institutions had decided to come out early to ensure that vehicles that plied the roads were of standard and conformed strictly with the road traffic and transport regulations so as to curb the carnage on the various road networks.
‘‘We want to make sure that every vehicle on the road is worthy, possessed valid license, insurance cover, advanced warning triangles, fire extinguishers and all the necessary documents and equipment before they embarked on their businesses,” Mr Baah stressed.
The MTTU Commander, however, cautioned that those drivers who would not obey the simple but important rules would be prosecuted at the law courts, adding that the exercise was going to be sustained to protect human lives and property.
According to the police officer, the checks were not limited to only commercial vehicles alone but covered all manner of transports, including motorbikes and, therefore, all drivers should co-operate with personnel of the service and their collaborators to make the exercise succeed in the interest of the wider population.
Mr Yaw Yeboah Asante, Assistant Planning Officer of the NRSC in Sunyani, said in another interaction that the exercise was intended to ensure safety on the roads and expressed optimism that at the end of the day, the drivers would do what was expected of them and not fall foul to the law.