Stop bribing the police - E/R Police Commander

THE Eastern Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Yaagy Akuriba, has advised drivers to stop paying bribes to the police and instead demand that they be told their offences to ensure maximum safety for all road users on the nation’s roads.

Mr Yaagy stated that even though it was easy for the drivers to slip money into their licences and hand them over to the police when their vehicles were flagged, it was important for them to know why they were stopped so they could correct the alleged offence for which they were stopped.

Mr Yaagy gave the advice when he met with officials of the National Road Safety Commission ( NRSC), transport operators, and representatives of the New Juaben Municipal Assembly.

The meeting, which discussed road safety ahead of the Christmas festivities, was also attended by officials of the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA), Department of Feeder Roads (DFR) and the Department of Urban Roads (DUR); three agencies under the Ministry of Roads and Highways.

The coming week has been declared ‘Road Safety Week’ so the meeting was also used to discuss some challenges that compromise road safety, and how they could be avoided.

The issue of the road safety task force instituted by the NRSC to check activities of drivers as Christmas approaches was also discussed.

Task force

The 11-member task force, according to the Eastern Regional Road Safety Manager, Mr Kwasi Yirenkyi Tsibu, was made up representatives of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), Progressive Transport Owners Association  (PROTOA), Cooperative Transport Union, Heritage Transport Union, the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Ghana National Fire Service, and the Red Cross.

The rest are: GHA , DFR, and DeDUR, the Driver Vehicle and Licensing Authority (DVLA), Motor Traffic and Transport Department ( MTTD), and the Association of  of Garages.

According to Mr Yirenkyi Tsibu, the task force would begin its work on Wednesday, November 26, on selected accident-prone roads in the region.

He also said members of the task force would be required to check the condition of vehicles, drivers’ licences, and  educate the drivers.

Accident statistics

The acting Regional  MTTD Commander  , Mr Peter Duodo, gave an overview of the road traffic accidents in the region for the years 2013 and 2014.

A total of 1,216 accidents involving 1,701 vehicles were recorded between January and October this year; 177 of the accidents were fatal, 431 described as serious, and 608 minor cases.

Within the same period, 283 pedestrians were knocked down.

Incidentally, even though this year’s road traffic crashes were less, compared to that of 2013, the fatalities were higher.

In 2013, the MTTD recorded 1,275 accidents involving 1,827 vehicles with 173 fatal cases, 504 serious, and 598 minor.