The Kumasi Central Police Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) says it will deal drastically with people who sell a mixture of local gin (akpeteshie) and marijuana to commercial drivers who operate at the Kajetia Lorry terminal in Kumasi.
According to the Central MTTU, the sale of the mixture, branded " LAKA" to commercial drivers who operate in various parts of the country had been on the increase in recent times and that always had adverse effects on drivers who patronised the products.
The Ashanti Regional MTTU Police Commander, Superintendent James Sarfo Peprah, gave the warning as part of their road safety education campaign at the Kajetia lorry terminal.
He expressed concern about the sale of the adulterated local gin at the Kejetia lorry terminal, saying, the intake of LAKA was a threat to road safety.
According to the MTTU boss, the drink did not only cause drivers to lose concentration and impair their judgement in the course of their journey, but also influenced them to drive recklessly, resulting in accidents, which claimed lives and property.
The Central MTTU is undertaking the road safety education campaign in collaboration with the National Road Safety Commission. The campaign is meant to sensitise drivers, station masters, and executive members of the various transport unions at the terminal to the need to be conscious about road safety in order to reduce the accidents in the Ashanti Region and its environs to the barest minimum.
The executive members of groups such as the Ghana Private Road Transport Union, (GPRTU) the Progressive Transport Union (PROTOA) Co-operative Transport Union, King Jesus, Commercial Drivers Union, Unity Transport, Redeemer and ALLTOPS and their station masters as well as other stakeholders attended the forum.
Mr Peprah said discipline by drivers was key to the reduction of vehicular injuries and death on the roads, and therefore, called on all stakeholders to collaborate with the MTTU and the Road Safety Commission to instil discipline among drivers to make travelling more comfortable and enjoyable.
He said intensive educational campaigns carried out by the MTTU and its collaborators led to the reduction of fatal accidents last year, but indications were that fatalities would increase in 2008 if the trend of accidents between January and May continued.
He said whilst 50 passengers were killed between January and March 2007, as against 91 in 2006, as many as 58 were killed between January and March this year, with April and May alone recording 55 deaths.
He said out of the number of deaths recorded in the Kumasi metropolis and its environs between January and May this year, 84 of them were “knockdowns” and out of that number, 50 victims lost their lives.
He warned that the police would be more vigilant on the road and not hesitate to arrest and prosecute drivers who plied the roads under the influence of alcohol, drove recklessly, overloaded their vehicles, drove above the minimum speed limit, failed to maintain their vehicles adequately or failed to observe road safety measures.
In a speech read on his behalf, the Deputy Ashanti Regional Police Commander, ACP Bright Oduro, urged drivers to be circumspect on the road, especially as the December general election drew near.
" As we usher ourselves into electioneering campaigns, let us not lose sight of the fact that we have existing laws which govern all traffic activities and for that matter, these must be complied with".
He said " the police are there to enforce the laws without and prejudice or compromise in order to ensure reasonable sanity on our roads".
He noted that investigations by the police had revealed that many of the road traffic injuries were the result of fatigue on the part of drivers who refused to rest after driving for a long period of time and, therefore, urged them to stop and relax anytime they felt tired, to reduce the spate of accidents on the road.
ACP Oduro said some commercial drivers, especially those in charge of 207 Mercedes Benz buses tampered with their back brakes and warned them to desist from such actions or face prosecution when they were arrested.
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