TRUCK PUSHERS ARE A MENACE (PAGE 25)

Truck pushers who operate around the Takoradi Central Market (Market Circle) have become a nuisance to motorists and pedestrians and if they are not brought to order now, the possibility of a serious clash between them and other road users cannot be wished away.
Movement around the market circle is anticlockwise, and therefore, every motorist that moves around the circle has to follow that direction.
But during the early hours of the day, between 6am and sundown at about 5:30 pm, drivers moving around the market circle have to be extra careful because the truck pushers, who normally carry goods for hawkers, and the second-hand goods dealers choose to move in the opposite direction.
They are also not patient enough and force their way into the lane of drivers, thereby disrupting the orderly flow of traffic around the market circle.
Also because of the lack of a parking space around the market, visitors to the market are forced to park their vehicles on one side of the road, thereby reducing the dual lane into a single lane, which has to be shared between the truck pushers and the vehicles in traffic.
Motorists, especially private vehicle owners, for fear that the truck pushers might scratch their vehicles, have to give way to the truck pushers.
One motorist told the Daily Graphic that they had to battle with the truck pushers any time they wanted to use the roads around the market, which provide the fastest link to other major roads in Takoradi.
“The truck pushers will not make things easy for us. I have had my vehicle scratched here before and as the truck pusher had no money to repair it for me, I had nothing to do. Unfortunately, we have to endure this obstinate conduct of the truck pushers all time,” he said.
Officials at the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) in Takoradi have expressed serious concern about the situation, hinting that they had made several appeals to the assembly to address the problem.
According to the commission, the confusion around the market circle, coupled with the use of the shoulders of the road by vehicles as parking lots, was against the road safety regulations.
When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA), Mr John Laste, attributed the problem to the obstinacy of the truck pushers.
“We have tried to save the situation by using our guards and enforcement of the law, and would intensify our efforts to ensure that sanity returns to the market circle,” he said.
He gave the assurance that the assembly would take serious action to restore sanity to the area after reconstruction works on the Takoradi Market to make it a modern one commenced. Mr Laste warned the truck pushers to abide by traffic regulations or face the consequences of their actions.