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Regional News of Wednesday, 15 March 2006

Source: GNA

Bawku police arrest unregistered motorbikes

Bawku (UER) March 15, GNA - The Bawku police, in collaboration with other security agencies, on Wednesday arrested 39 motorists for breaching road regulations in the township. Fifteen motorbikes were also impounded for not having the relevant customs documents covering them.

The offences were driving without a valid licence, driving without helmet and driving unregistered vehicle.

Briefing the GNA on the exercise, the Bawku Divisional Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Emmanuel K. Bledjumah, noted that most of the motorbikes in the town were unregistered and that the riders drive carelessly.

He said apart from the danger posed by unregistered motorbikes by persons without valid licence, they also evade the payment of customs duties to the state.

Chief Supt. Bledjumah said, the exercise, which is on going, was meant to rid the township of careless riding and to encourage motorists to protect their own lives and other road users. He added that it was also to deter smugglers for importing motorbikes into the country without paying the expected customs duties, thereby depriving the state of needed funds to undertake development projects.

He said offenders would be asked to pay the relevant customs duties and made to acquire all the necessary documents before the motorbikes would be released.

The Regional Officer of Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), Mr. Noah T. Matey, said about five years that his outfit extended an outreach service to the township very few people had taken advantage to register their motorbikes. He said most of the offenders were not aware of acquiring driving licence before one could ride a motorbike.

Mr. Matey said his outfit would undertake an educational campaign throughout the township on the need to have proper documents for their vehicles and driving licence to prevent the high spate of accidents in the town. As at the time filing this story, most people were busily applying for driving licences.