Sunday, April 5, 2009

POLICE INITIATE MOVES TO REDUCE ACCIDENTS (PAGE 21)

THE Brong Ahafo Regional Command of the Police Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU), has stepped up an educational campaign and strict enforcement of the road traffic regulations in the region.
The move is to minimise the recent spate of road accidents in the region in particular and the country as a whole.
During the first quarter of this year, the region recorded 64 deaths through road accidents, compared to the six deaths recorded during the same period last year.
The Regional MTTU Commander, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Mr Paul Wesley Baah, made this known to the Daily Graphic in Sunyani.
He said the move was also aimed at checking indisciplined behaviour on the part of drivers and other road users.
Mr Baah stated that the command had also stepped up road traffic management in the big towns in the region to check decongestion.
He added that the command had, therefore, deployed more police personnel to manage traffic at vantage points in cities and towns in the region.
According the regional MTTU commander, the largest number of deaths in a single accident occurred at Kawanpe on the Kintampo-Tamale road early this year which claimed 28 lives.
Mr Baah mentioned the accident prone areas in the region as Techiman-Jema-Kintampo and Kintampo-Tamale roads.
He, therefore, appealed to drivers, especially those who handle articulated and cargo trucks on the portions of those roads to be cautious, stressing that they must display their reflectors (triangles) 20 metres away from the spots where their vehicles break down to serve as warning to the oncoming motorists.
Mr Baah attributed some of the road accidents in the region to complete disregard for road safety and fatigue driving.
He said since every driver could be tired after driving continuously for four hours, the motorists must take a rest for at least 30 minutes before continuing with the journey.
Mr Baah stated that fatigue driving and speeding had been identified as the major causes of road accidents. In view of this, the National Headquarters of the Police MTTU had proposed the re-introduction of the log system to check these problems.
He called on motorists to adhere to traffic rules and regulations contained in the Ghana Highway Code to reduce road accidents.
Mr Baah further stated that the command had introduced the use of radar guns to check speeding.
He therefore, urged the general public to co-operate to ensure safety on the roads.

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