Comment: POLICE AGAIN; not up to the task

This is not an article to criticise the Police Service for which we have the greatest sense of respect, but those wearing the honourable uniform and do horribly wrong things.

Beside the fact that the motorway is a death trap for commuters who have no choice since it’s the only road connecting the two major cities in the country; it puts their lives at risk any time they drive on it.

Look at the number of things facing a by force stunt man while going to work or going back to his family after a hard working day:

1. Potholes 2. Undisciplined commercial drivers 3. People, animals (including cows), vehicles of any size crossing, walking or even crawling across the dual lanes of the motorway 4. Vehicles without headlights (front and back) 5. Vehicles being towed without adequate signs 6. Heavy duty machines / trucks crawling on the speed lane (even forklift!) 7. Motorbikes with up to 3 people on each zigzagging on the dual lanes and the side pavement 8. Commercial vehicles boarding passengers on both sides of the dual lanes.

I have been commuting on daily bases and very rarely do I meet a police patrol doing the due diligence to vehicles and drivers. I mean if a truck is overloaded without lights driving at 20 km/h on the speed lane, it does not take a motor traffic specialist to impound the vehicle and charge the driver.

I can confidently say that probably more than 20% of cars driven on the motorway are without licence plates not to talk about trial number!

Yesterday perhaps we saw a very spectacular but tragic accident with a bus under the bridge on the motorway. We don’t know what the dynamics of the accident were but certainly the people who paid the tickets were not expecting to meet that horrible fate.

I passed by in the morning and saw the bus in the ditch, I had read that it happened at 1am of the same day but no official reasons were given as to the cause of the disaster.

All we know is that some 12 people will probably have to live the rest of their lives facing the consequences of that morning just for choosing that particular bus.

Let’s go back to the title of this piece; why do I say Police again; not up to the task, guess what, yesterday on my return to Accra I joined the motorway at 5 pm and I got off at almost 9!!

Why? The Police had decided to remove the vehicle involved in the accident from the ditch at the time of a major traffic. This is what I met at the spot after almost 4 hours of walk-driving and sitting in my vehicle at 7:45 pm as a crane was lifting the bus.

I only saw two policemen on the road, no sign at the entrance of the motorway and no patrol along the side. The entire stretch was congested so much that if anyone was on board a vehicle and needed emergency help, he could have just died without anyone rescuing the person.

The time was wrong to do that job and the organisation was poor and extremely unprofessional, putting many other people at risk and exposing them to accidents which could eventually lead to collateral casualties.

I will like the Motor Traffic Transport Department (MTTD) Commander to explain how it was organised and who was in charge.

It is time we praise the good and efficient Police officers and clean up the community of people who do not deserve to wear the Police uniform.