Police lament spate of accidents

Story: Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu, Takoradi

A number of accidents that occurred on the Accra-Takoradi Road and parts of the Shama Ahanta East metropolis over the past three weeks have claimed 21 lives.
Some of the victims also sustained various degrees of injuries.
The Western Regional Commander of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service, Mr E. Adusa-Poku, who described the situation as alarming, said 11 people were confirmed dead in a tragic accident involving a Ford Bus and an articulated truck at the weekend.
He said that was followed by an accident involving another Ford bus and a Mercedes Benz bus in a head-on collision that claimed five lives on the spot in addition to five people killed in other accidents at different locations in the metropolis within the period.
He said the carnage on the road could be avoided if drivers respected road signs and driving regulations and avoided speeding.
He attributed the accidents to speeding, lack of maintenance, alcohol intake by drivers and driver fatigue as well as lack of good judgement before overtaking.
"They speed, drink, overtake in curves and dangerous areas leading to fatalities daily. My men are on the road daily but they cannot be there throughout the day," he said
To check drink driving among drivers, the police mounted an exercise on the road and the alcohol testing machine (Alchometer) used to measure the level of alcohol intake by the driver of a Mercedes Benz bus, Abraham Doi, developed a fault after the test due to the high level of alcohol in his system.
The driver was on Tuesday convicted to a fine of GH¢6,000 (¢60 million), equivalent to 500 penalty units, by the Sekondi Magistrate Court. He faces a 12-month jail term in default.
Mr Adusa-Poku regretted that some drivers drove more than 100 km/h through town and crowded areas and warned motorists not to go beyond the stipulated 50 km/h speed limit when approaching towns.
He was not happy that motorists, both commercial and private vehicle owners, misused the good nature of the Accra-Takoradi road and certain parts of the metropolis to speed.
The regional MTTU commander said the biggest challenge now was how to ensure sanity on the road to protect life and property .
"The police will not be everywhere at all the time and the best thing to do is to ensure that as citizens, we do the right, " he said.
Mr Adusa-Poku gave the assurance that his men would be up to the task during the Ghana 2008 Africa Cup of Nations tournament and indicated that they would be supported by the community police who had been trained under the National Youth Employment Programme.
When contacted, some drivers of the various drivers’ unions, including the Ford Minibus drivers, attributed the spate of accidents to tiredness and wrong judgement while overtaking.
The Secretary of the Takoradi branch of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Mr Francis K. Kwaku, explained that the distance from Takoradi to Accra should be covered within four hours and Anomabo in the Central Region had been identified as a rest stop.
"But we fail to rest because the passengers are eager to get to their destination early," he said.
Mr Kwaku described the clamouring for passengers and the quest to make more money by going on a number of trips before the close of the day as unfortunate.
He, therefore, appealed to the authorities to ensure that drivers abided by the regulations.
Some drivers in the metropolis blamed pedestrian accidents on the attitude of pedestrians, who do not take the necessary precautions while crossing the road.
When the Daily Graphic visited the local Ford station, business was brisk as usual, and a passenger who was asked why he wanted to travel on that vehicle said he needed to be in Accra before mid-day.