Kumasi, Sept 8, GNA – Mr Sumaila Boachie, Chairman of the Kumasi-Takoradi-Elubo branch of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), has attributed the high rate of accidents, especially in the Ashanti region to recalcitrant drivers who flout road traffic regulations with impunity.
Speaking to newsmen after an emergency meeting of the branch in Kumasi on Wednesday, Mr Boachie called the Police Motor Traffic and Transport Union (MTTU) to embark on an intensified highway patrol to arrest offending drivers whose carelessness were maiming and killing innocent passengers and leading to the loss of property. He suggested that such drivers should be banned while heavy fines or imprisonment imposed on them.
The GPRTU Chairman disagreed with the suggestion that ‘207’ minibuses should be banned from undertaking long journeys because they caused accidents.
He said the buses were equally good as other vehicles, adding that, “it is lack of maintenance of vehicles, overloading, over-speeding and non observance of road traffic regulations on the part of some drivers that caused accidents in our roads”.
Mr Boachie stressed that most of the vehicles operating under his branch were ‘207’ buses but no major accident had been recorded because the drivers were very careful and maintained their vehicles properly. He criticised the agitation by one Reverend Morgan on a Kumasi FM radio station calling on the travelling public not to patronise ‘207’ buses as unacceptable and urged passengers to ignore the call. Mr Boachie appealed to the Driver Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) to ensure that driving licenses were issued only to qualified people with “deep knowledge” in driving instead of through the “back door”.
He charged stationmasters to ensure that vehicle plying long distances had good tyres and the drivers in “good frame of mind” before setting off on a journey.
The Branch Chairman appealed to drivers to stop the practice of putting on high lights at nights on the highway especially when they were facing oncoming vehicles, which made them to lose control and could lead to accidents. 08 Sept 05
Source: GhanaWeb
