Police suspend ban on movement of heavy trucks

3/2/11

Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru
THE Ghana Police Service (GPS) has suspended the dusk-to-dawn ban on the movement of heavy trucks in the country, barely a week after announcing the ban.
The Director of Public Affairs of the GPS, Supt Kwesi Ofori, told the Daily Graphic yesterday that the police had reviewed the ban after putting in place other effective measures to reduce accidents on the roads.
He mentioned the positioning of police personnel along highways and accident-prone areas, inspection of the state of vehicles and monitoring of the attitude of drivers as some of the measures.
The imposition of the ban on the movement of the heavy vehicles after 6pm followed recent accidents involving heavy trucks in various parts of the country.
The transport operators, however, protested the ban and proposed that the heavy trucks rather be allowed to operate after 10 p.m. when the roads are free and a ban imposed on their movement from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. when vehicular traffic was heavy.
Section 18 A(1) of the Road Traffic Offences (Amendment) Regulations, 1994, which the police sought to enforce, states that: “No person shall drive or cause to be driven any truck the weight of which exceeds three tons between the hours of 6p.m and 6a.m unless the person in control of the truck has obtained a permit in writing from the Minister for Interior or from an officer authorised by him for the purpose.”
According to subsection two of the law, “for the removal of doubt, the word truck as used in this regulation does not include an omnibus or passenger lorry as defined in regulation 45 of these regulations”.
Subsection three states that “there shall be paid for a permit issued under paragraph (1) a fee of ¢10,000.”
Supt Ofori said the Police Administration was concerned about the safety of people, and that it would do everything possible to protect them against accidents.
He said the Police Administration was a listening one, hence the decision to suspend the ban.
Supt Ofori said the police would work closely with road operators to ensure discipline on the roads.
He said the police would intensify education on road safety regulations.
He warned that the police would arrest and prosecute offending drivers who engaged in reckless driving.
Supt Ofori said the Police Administration led by the Inspector-General of Police, Paul Tawiah Quaye, and officials of the National Road Safety Commission held a meeting yesterday to strategise how to ensure safety on the roads.
Meanwhile, he said, Traffic Amendment Regulation of 1994 that empowered the police to impose the ban on the movement of heavy trucks after 6 p.m. was being looked at again by the policy makers.