No matter how often one faults the duiker, its swiftness can never be faulted, as this quality embedded in the duiker , is always admired.
It is for this reason that I have always admired the Ashanti Regional Police Command , for its vigilance in instilling discipline among motorists as a way of curbing the spate of carnage in the region.
Their vigilance on the road networks in the Ashanti Region, is admirable, in that, police could be spotted at vantage points from dawn to dusk, scrutinising motorists to ensure that their vehicles are not only road-worthy, but also have the requisite documents.
Motorists who have developed the appetite of driving at break-neck speed, especially on the accident prone Kumasi-Obuasi road, and that of the Kumasi-Sunyani road, sometimes laugh at the wrong side of their cheek when they are caught red-handed with the speed radar, an instrument the police use in bringing over speeding motorists to book .
Such motorists are sometimes dragged to the courts to explain why they are deliberately putting their lives and those of other road users at great risk.
Some of the operations of the police along the trunk roads in the region, have also led to the arrest of hardened criminals , many of whom were escaping with their booty, thereby facilitating their prosecution and incarceration .
Their vigilance on the road network in the Kumasi Metropolis, especially during the morning rush hours, mostly create sanity on the road, making it possible for commuters to reach their destinations on schedule to operate its businesses.
In spite of such outstanding qualities of the Ashanti Regional Police Command, there is one flaw which is gradually becoming a blot in their operations.
This flaw, which is very palpable, is the apathetic posture the police in the region have assumed towards the recklessness of users of bullions, especially when there is no emergency .
It is a fact that, police in the region are always eager to strictly apply the needed sanctions against commercial and private drivers who disregard road-traffic regulations .
This, according to the police, are the disciplinary measures meant to create sanity on the roads to make travelling more conducive , comfortable and enjoyable.
No matter how minor their offences are, commercial drivers, especially, are sure to suffer the wrath of the police.
With this at the back of their minds, motorists are eager to ‘shake’ the hands of police in their own small way, even if no offence has been committed.
This, according to some of the motorists, is to free them from unforeseen hazards and time wastage at the police stations and the courts .
Such strict application of the law by the police, regarding the instilling of sanity on the road, is highly commendable, as it sometimes helps to reduce the risks road users are prone to.
However, when it comes to applying the same sanctions against drivers who use bullions of financial institutions, the police are found wanting in ensuring their compliance of the road traffic regulations .
The refusal of the police to use the disciplinary rod , has made the bullion drivers to assume high profile complex,thereby creating the impression that they are operating on a different planet, and can, therefore, drive anyhow and anywhere on the roads, irrespective of what time of the day.
That bullions play useful roles in sustaining business transaction in the country is not in doubt.
In fact recognising their significance in sustaining business transactions, the public, especially motorists , readily give way to such vehicles , just as they do to ambulances , all to reduce the risk of keeping them in traffic.
Drivers of such vehicles have, therefore, taken the advantage motorists offer them for granted by assuming that the road networks were primarily constructed solely for their use.
With the police in the region refusing to bring them to order, such drivers have succeeded in creating an unnecessary state of panic for law-abiding motorists.
A typical example of this was vividly displayed by a driver of a national ambulance in Kumasi, four years ago.
This driver decided to use a vehicle belonging to the state, meant for an emergency health care services, to celebrate the victory of a local football club.
Moments after he heard that his team had beaten a rival soccer club by a lone goal in Kumasi during a competitive match, he got hold of the ambulance, which was by then parked at his residence, draped his dog in the colours of his team, put the pet into the bucket of the ambulance, and dashed onto the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital –Bekwai roundabout trunk road at top speed while blowing the siren.
Disregarding other road users and putting their lives at great risk, the driver continued to drive recklessly to and fro, creating a state of panic for road users , many of whom had to swerve to avoid crashing into the ambulance.
Eventually, the ambulance driver lost total control of the vehicle and smashed the vehicle into an oncoming articulated truck a few metres from the Shell fuel station at the Bekwai roundabout, damaging the vehicle beyond repairs.
The driver, and his dog, however, escaped unhurt, but to date, the ambulance has been confined to the garage with no intention of repairing it again due to the severe damage caused and the cost involved.
As usual, a committee was set up to investigate the incident the outcome of which has not been made public up since then.
Just like the errant ambulance driver, those who use bullions seem to have taken their privilege on the road for granted, and are, therefore, abusing it with impunity.
It is not uncommon to see these drivers blasting their horns in irritating manner, and moving threateningly in traffic, putting the lives of motorists at great risk.
Long before the financial institutions open at 8:30 am , many of such bullions are seen on the road networks of the metropolis moving at top speed.
The recklessness also continue after the financial institutions had closed from business, indicating that, it is not responding to emergencies that cause such drivers to misbehave on the road but they do so for reasons best known to themselves.
With their hazard lights blinking menacingly and their horns blowing furiously, these drivers move in the middle of the single carriage road networks, daring oncoming vehicles , many of which have to swerve sharply to avoid any head-on collision.
Ironically , many of such attitudes happen right in the glare of the Police Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) personnel who are rather ready to apply the disciplinary rod against taxi and trotro drivers, but always turn a blind eye when it comes to these potential murderers, the bullion drivers.
This is also happening at a time the public are raising eyebrows about the carnage on the roads.
Many fatal accidents that had claimed precious lives over the years in the Kumasi metropolis , were attributed to human errors, just as it happened on August 16,2010 when 19 innocent passengers died in the Greater Accra Region.
On Monday, August 16, 2010 the recklessness of a Metro Mass Transit driver resulted in the death of 19 innocent passengers, including a Police Chief Inspector , with 55 others sustaining various degrees of injuries .
The bus with registration number, AS 6059-10 , crushed into a stationary truck at Koni-Kabu near Dawa in the Dangme East District of the Greater Accra Region.
The Transport Minister , Mr Mike Hammer, who went to the accident scene, was beside himself with grief , and bemoaned the spate of accidents in the country, saying the country losses as much as $16.5 million annually through accidents.
The media has raised the attitude of bullion operators with the Regional Police Command over the years and as usual , the Police had always assured to bring them to order, but such assurances are yet to be manifested on the road as they do to other road users .
This is also happening at a time that the public is becoming more concerned about the number of people being killed on the road on a daily basis through accidents.
Many of such accidents are preventable, and that is why the police should be seen to be checking any form of recklessness , no matter where it comes from.
In the Ashanti Region alone, 53 passengers , including 25 females , lost their lives through fatal accidents between January and March this year, and 535 others suffered various degrees of injuries, causing them to depend on families and friends for their livelihood.
As many as 74 pedestrians, were also knocked down by vehicles in the region between January and March this year, creating a state of insecurity for pedestrians.
During the same period last year, 75 passengers in the region died through vehicular accidents , but the injury toll was pegged at 403.
In all, as many as 498 vehicles, including 160 private cars ,were involved in accidents in the Ashanti Region alone between January and March this year.
22 motor cycles were also recorded to have been involved in accidents during the same period in the region, this year.
Last year, the number of vehicles recorded to have been involved in accidents in the region were 576.
Carnage on the road can be reduced, if motorists are made to appreciate that they will not be spared if they flout road safety regulations.
Police will be doing more harm than good to the public, if they discriminate in applying sanctions against all manner of road users as it is happening in Kumasi.
Perhaps the police in the region are eagerly waiting for drivers operating bullions to start slaughtering law-abiding motorists, including police officers to generate national outcry before they decide to finally act.
Since prevention is always better than cure, it would serve the interest of majority of Ghanaians if Police acted swiftly as they sometimes do, to bring reckless bullion operators to order before they succeed in reducing the road network in the region to a slaughtering house
No comments:
Post a Comment