Tema, May 30, GNA – Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Paul Bruce Amoah, Prampram Divisional Commander, Motor, Transport and Traffic Department (MTTD) has urged Ghanaians to report haulage trucks conveying heavy goods without truck cargo belts to the police.
He said that the belt was not only necessary in large trucks but also in every vehicle transporting large cargoes and it mandated that any track conveying cargo must have tied them with two belts to keep the cargo in place.
DSP Amoah was speaking to the Ghana News Agency in an interview which formed part of the GNA Tema Regional Office and Tema MTTD road safety campaign platform.
The GNA-Tema and MTTD Road Safety Project sought to actively create consistent and systematic weekly awareness advocacy on the need to be cautious on the road as a user, educate all road users of their respective responsibilities, and sensitise drivers, especially on the tenets of road safety regulations, rules, and laws.
DSP Amoah indicated that, although the cargo and other drivers were aware of the laws and knew the implications of violating the law, they still did not adhere to the rules stated by the road traffic regulations.
“The laws are there and if drivers will abide by these laws, there would be a reduction in road crashes, let us all be good citizens, let us do the right thing at all times, the drivers should not wait for the police to tell them to abide by the laws,” he stated.
DSP Amoah explained that the usage of cargo trucks without the appropriate safety belts was worrying and more dangerous, especially in areas of bad road networks and potholes.
The Prampram Divisional MTTD Commander tasked citizens to play active roles in reducing the carnage by taking pictures of the trailers or trucks or videos of the tracking number, and the track without the belt and reporting to the nearest police station where the police would take it up.
He explained that “People always want to do the wrong thing for the police to be on their neck, we have been arresting them and sending them to court yet they still violate the laws”.
DSP Amoah urged pedestrians to also play their roles in the attempt to reduce road crashes in the country noting that, pedestrians must be attentive on the roads, abide by traffic rules, and reduce the rate at which they listen to music while using the roads or operate other electronic devices while crossing or walking alongside the road.
He cautioned that the use of mobile phones while on the road destructed one’s attention which could easily result in an accident.
‘Pedestrians don’t observe rules and regulations, for instance, there’s a footbridge, but will refuse to use the bridge, and cross where there is no zebra crossing even when it has been provided just some few steps away,” he added.
Source: Ghana News Agency
