KUMASI MTTU BAGS GH¢13,000 (PAGE 55)

Story: George Ernest Asare, Kumasi

A five-day special operation carried out by the Police Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) in the Kumasi metropolis and its environs to check irregularities on road traffic and other traffic offences generated GH¢13,000 for the state.
On hundred and twenty drivers who committed various traffic offences were arrested during the special operations that started on April 1, 2008 and ended five days later.
Out of the number of drivers arrested during the period, 90 of them were arraigned and 65 were convicted by the Kumasi Circuit Court presided over by Justice Ernest Yao Obimpeh and fined between GH¢400 and GH¢500.
The Ashanti Regional Commander of the MTTU of the Ghana Police Service, DSP James Sarfo Peprah, told the Daily Graphic that the police were investigating the cases of 25 other suspects who were arrested during the exercise.
He said among the offences committed by the drivers were use of expired driving licences, road worthiness certificates and insurance, speeding, wrong overtaking, driving under the influence of alcohol and overloading of vehicles.
Mr Sarfo Peprah said the exercise was carried out mainly on the Kumasi-Obuasi road, where commercial and private car users were known to flout road traffic regulations.
He pointed out that many of the offending drivers used 207 Mercedes Benz buses and when their vehicles were inspected, it was noticed that their insurance and roadworthiness certificates had either expired, or had faulty brakes or overloaded their vehicles.
He said some of the drivers had also taken alcohol beyond the required limit, and therefore expressed concern about the continuous flouting of traffic regulations by drivers in spite of the numerous road safety campaigns.
He said those arrested and prosecuted included drivers who plied the Kumasi-Elubo, Kumasi-Takoradi, Kumasi-Obuasi, Kumasi Mankessim and Kumasi-Dunkwa and Bekwai routes.
He pointed out that most of the fatal accidents had not only occurred on that particular road, but also involved 207 Mercedes Benz drivers.
He wondered why some drivers continued to disregard road traffic regulations at the peril of their lives and those of passengers, whose lives were entrusted to them in the course of their journey.
Mr Sarfo Peprah also expressed concern about the behaviour of some passengers during the exercise, saying that there was the need for passengers to co-operate with the police when such operations were being carried out because it was in their own interest.
“Passengers sometimes go to the extent of insulting the police for wasting their time during such operations, but kept quiet when drivers were speeding and driving recklessly, putting their lives at great risk,” he complained.
“It is my plea that passengers should always co-operate with the police whenever we are carrying out such exercises. This is because it is our civic responsibility to ensure that there is sanity on the road to make travelling more enjoyable and comfortable,” he added.