1,266 arrested for traffic offences

1,266 drivers were arraigned before court between January and May this year for traffic offences as against a total of 1,200 the whole of last year, and ?337 million was collected as fines.

Speaking to The Accra Daily Mail in an interview in Accra yesterday, the Deputy Commander of the Police Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU), ASP S.K. Ntim said if care is not taken the figures would double by the end of the year.

He said that the current spate of indiscipline the country is grappling with especially on the roads would continue if Ghanaians are not prepared to change their attitudes. For instance, he said, the Central MTTU alone on average records 30 traffic offences daily, which is not good enough. The offences range from dangerous driving, driving on the shoulders of the road to picking passengers at unlawful spots and jumping red lights among others.

He said the police cannot be blamed for unlawful driving in the city, but the Ghana Private Roads and Transport Union (GPRTU) and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) should be blamed for it.

ASP Ntim said it is unfortunate that up till now an organisation as big as the GPRTU cannot boast of a single driving college to offer refresher courses and in-house training to drivers. He also urged the DVLA to adhere to the procedure for the acquisition of a licence in the country because most of the drivers who learn on the job do not know the basic road signs.

In a breakdown of the statistics, ASP Ntim said in January this year 103 drivers were arrested and 93 of them were convicted and fined ?23,400,000, whiles 7 were cautioned and discharged.

In February, 98 drivers out of 121 were sentenced to a fine of ?28m and 19 of them bonded. 444 traffic offenders were apprehended in March out of which 136 were fined ?31,400,000. Three were reprimanded whiles the others were also cautioned and discharged.

454 drivers were arrested in April out of which 427 were sentenced with a fine of ?91,000,000. Seven were warned whiles 20 were also cautioned and discharged. 451 traffic offenders were put before court in May and 395 of them were sentenced to a fine of ?163m. Two were jailed whiles 18 of them were cautioned and discharged. He called on vehicle owners to desist from the practice of paying the fines of drivers, which are to deter them from such offences.

He called on the government to provide the unit with logistics such as communication gadgets and patrol vehicles.