BA records reduction in road accidents

Sunyani(B/A), Jan. 22, GNA - Brong Ahafo Region recorded a significant reduction in road accidents and traffic offences in 2006 as compared to 2005.

Last year 277 road accidents were recorded out of which 122 people died and 201 received injuries, while in 2005, 841 road accidents were recorded with 147 deaths and 338 people receiving injuries.

Police Inspector Kaakyire Anane, Station Officer of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service disclosed this to the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Sunyani. However, he said 343 vehicles were involved in road accidents in 2005 compared to 1,099 vehicles in 2006.

Giving statistics, Police Inspector Anane said 82 fatal, 87 serious and 111 minor road accidents were recorded in 2006 while 124 fatal, 191 serious and no minor road accident was recorded in 2005. On traffic offences, Police Inspector Anane said 980 cases were recorded in 2005 out of which 828 cases were disposed off and the rest pending before the courts.

He said 215 of the offences were over speeding, 73 offenders were issued with warning letters, 31 of them were arrested for the abuse of red lights and 382 for driving with expired documents. Police Inspector Anane said 41 of the traffic offences were for unregistered vehicles and motorbikes while 101 were drivers who refused to stop at police check points.

He said 101 offences were recorded in 2006 out of which 57 were disposed off and the rest pending, 150 for over speeding, 38 for the abuse of red lights, 200 for driving with expired documents, 28 for unregistered vehicles and motor bikes and 80 for stopping at unauthorised places.

Police Inspector Anane noted that due to the high road accidents recorded in 2005, the police intensified sensitization programmes in the mass media on the dangers of over speeding and wrong over taking that accounted for 70 per cent of the road accidents. He said the programmes yielded positive results leading to the reduction in 2006.

Police Inspector Anane said most of the drivers who possessed expired documents were educated on the need to acquire appropriate documents for their vehicles whilst vehicle owners adhered to the advice to maintain their vehicles regularly.

He assured the public that the police would not rest on their oars but continued to check over speeding and other offences, adding, "We have already started checking over speeding and 12 people including a British have so far been arrested and fined six million cedis each". Police Inspector Anane said about 73 million cedis was realised from court fines in 2005 and 171 million cedis in 2006.

Meanwhile a section of the public have cautioned the police administration to be wary of members of the MTTU "who have started intimidating motorists, especially drivers of commercial vehicles, over the new fines".

Some of them speaking to the Ghana News Agency alleged that some of the MTTU personnel had started demanding between 500,000 cedis and one million cedis for offences committed, in lieu of the new fines of six million cedis and above.

"The police authorities must do well to check the unfortunate practice as this behaviour will definitely defeat the objective for the imposition of the new fines by the courts," a motorist said.