Cargo drivers cautioned…to promote decency on the road

The Commanding Officer of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU), Daniel Julius Awuga, has cautioned the National Cargo Transport Union (NCTU), to exercise extra vigilance when carrying out operations, especially, within the capital city, Accra.

He made this concern after careful analyses of the numerous recorded road accidents and misconducts, on the part of drivers.

According to him, their activities posed a threat to human lives, since most of the drivers go contrary to the laws and regulations of the union.

In a discussion with members of the union, the Commanding Officer advised the drivers to refrain from indiscriminate parking, on the shoulders of the roads, especially, the highways.
This, he said, always resulted in road accidents, or pedestrians being knocked down by on coming vehicles, in their attempts to by-pass parked trucks.

He observed that cargo drivers do not take note of road signs, but rather they take the law into their own hands, and carelessly misconduct themselves on the roads.

He cited that instead of the drivers using rectangles to warn on-coming vehicles, they choose to use lorry tyres and branches of trees, as warning signals to approaching vehicles.

“These practices by the drivers, have transpired for a long period of time, and that the time has come to instill discipline, and ensure decency on our roads,” he said

This, he said, would promote good morals, safety and accident-free motoring on our roads.

For this reason, he called on the union members and other drivers, to adhere to directives of the authorities, and desist from driving in the inner lanes, and unlawful overtaking among others.

He attributed some road accidents, to the use of imported trucks and home-used tyres (secondhand), which are being imported into the country.

He said such trucks and tyres do not suit the climate of the country, and in turn pose a danger to the lives of humans.

The commanding officer commented on some situations where some of the drivers over load their tracks above five (5) metres of built overpass.

“This normally destroy our roads and overpass that the government has spent huge amount to construct” he noted

He added that drivers of trucks should always make it a point to maintain their vehicles, and always make it appoint to drive properly, leaving 20 meters distance between their trucks and other vehicles, to avoid instances where their trucks collide with other vehicles, when their brakes fail them or have to stop all of a sudden, as one of the traffic regulations stipulates.

The MTTU has expressed its intention to embark on an operation, to arrest unregistered vehicles, since they were normally used by armed robbers, to undertake their operations.

In an interview with the National Secretary for the Ghana National Cargo Transport, Mr. Bright Naveh-Fio, he acknowledged the fact that the attitudes of some drivers contributed to the many tragedies of our roads.

He further stated that drivers sometimes overloaded their trucks, so as to meet their expected sales for the day, which was also in contravention of traffic regulations.