13 Drivers Including A Female In Court

13 drivers have been fined by the Tema Motor and Sanitation Court for committing various traffic offenses on the Dawhenya - Aflao road. Each accused person was fined between 240 Ghana Cedis and a maximum of 720 Ghana Cedis or spend three months in prison in default. Narrating the facts in Court, the prosecutor told the court that, the Prampram Motor Transport and Traffic Directorate (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service went on a routine operation last Saturday, the 29th of June to check indiscriminate driving on the road.

The prosecutor said during the operations, 27 private and commercial drivers were caught on the spot committing various acts of road traffic offenses. Other offenders were caught driving on the shoulders of the road, while some were driving on pedestrian walk ways using their hazard light and many other offenses ranging between careless and inconsiderate driving. At the court, all the 13 accused drivers including one female pleaded guilty to all the charges leveled against them. One of the accused Drivers Eric Adorkenu, a leader of the drivers’ union who ply between Accra and Aflao said in an interview with our reporter that the road is not in good condition and that drivers spend almost an hour in traffic each day on the Dawhenya road.

He said sometimes in an attempt to escape the hazards on the road, they end up infringing on road traffic regulations. He made a passionate appeal to the government to fix the bad roads with urgency. One notable culprit among the offenders was the Deputy Managing Director of the Bulk Oil and Storage Transportation, BOST, Moses Asem, who was arrested using siren in his V8 to escape traffic on the Dawhenya highway. He also did not have his driver’s license at the time of his arrest, he told the Police that he had clearance from National Security but he could not provide evidence to that effect. Moses Asem was expected to appear in court for trial but was absent.

MERCY NIMO - REPORTING FROM TEMA