Drivers pay GH¢205,020.00 as fines in E/R

About 183 drivers were sent to court in the second quarter of 2013 for road traffic offences in the Eastern Region and paid GH¢205,020.00 as fines.

The figure is about two-thirds of the total revenue the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) generated nationwide from traffic offences in the second quarter of 2013, Chief Superintendent of Police Samuel K. Tetteh, the Eastern Regional Commanding Officer of the MTTU, told the GNA on Tuesday.

He mentioned some of the offences the drivers committed included overloading, wrongful overtaking, over speeding, jumping of red lights and driving without the requisite driving license and many more.

Chief Superintendent Tetteh said the region recorded 436 cases of traffic offences with 324 of the cases sent to court out of which 183 drivers were convicted.

Sixty-eight of the cases are awaiting trial, 50 under investigations, 72 drivers were issued with bench warrants, 62 issued with warning letters and one jailed. He expressed worry that in spite of the punishment, drivers’ conduct on the roads had not changed and still posed danger to road users.

Chief Superintendent Tetteh said it was worrying to see drivers who had just been fined by the courts being apprehended for other serious road traffic offences and appealed to drivers to be mindful of the lives that perish in accidents and endeavor to abide by the rules.

He said his outfit was collaborating with other stakeholders such as the driving schools, Driver Vehicle and Licensing Authority (DVLA), Road Safety Commission and the MTTU in the region to educate motorists to adhere to road safety regulations.