REMOVE BROKEN DOWN VEHICLES WITHIN 2 HRS OR... (PAGE 28)

The Director of Development and Programmes at the National Road Safety Commission, Mrs May Obiri-Yeboah, has announced that all break down unattended to vehicles on the highways must henceforth be removed within a period of two hours or their drivers will face prosecution.
She said adherence to the law, which will soon be given a legal backing, would help to prevent multiple accidents caused as a result of break down trucks left in the middle of the road.
Mrs Obiri-Yeboah was addressing transit articulated truck drivers who convey cargo from the Tema Port to Burkina Faso, Mali ,Niger and Togo, at an educational forum organised by the Ghana Shippers Council in Tema.
She asked them to observe road traffic regulations and also consider smaller vehicles and pedestrians on the roads in order to save life and property.
Mrs Obiri-Yeboah also warned drivers who refused to wear seat belts, stating that there would soon be a Legislative Instrument (LI) which would facilitate the arrest and prosecution of such offenders.
She said but for negligence, most accidents could be avoided and advised that drivers should not drink and drive or drive when they were tired in order to ensure sanity on the roads.
Mrs Obiri-Yeboah said Ghana lost U$165 million through expenditure on road accidents and that the money could have been used for the maintenance of the bad roads.
She advised truck owners to organise short but regular training courses for their drivers to be abreast with new trends in the transportation sector.
Mrs Obiri-Yeboah said it would soon be made mandatory for truck drivers to be taken through the rudiments of driving to upgrade their knowledge in driving institutions.
She introduced a permanent reflective tape which would enhance visibility during the night to the drivers.
A director at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), in Accra in charge of Training Testing & Licensing, Mr Cheyuo Wienaa Musah, appealed to vehicle owners to verify from the authority the genuineness of licenses of drivers before employing them to handle their trucks.
He explained that most drivers who were found with fake licenses were those who had failed driving tests, and had been exposed to the services of 'goro boys'.
Mr Musah advised the drivers to have the confidence to approach officials of the authority for assistance in acquiring driving licenses.
The Chief Executive of the Ghana Shippers Council, Mr Kofi Mbiah, announced that the council was in the process of strengthening its mandate with respect to the protection of the interest of importers and exporters.
He said as a result, the council envisaged a legal framework that would ensure that the haulage of cargo would be undertaken only in containerised trucks or in containers.
Mr Mbiah called for truck operators to be duly registered and provided with guidelines as well as regular information to ensure that they adhered to international practices and standards.
The Special Advisor to the Minister of Transport, Mr Emmanuel Opoku, who chaired the programme commended the Shippers Council for organising the educational forum to educate transporters of cargo on the rules and regulations governing transportation of goods by road.
He said without the work of transporters shipping would not be complete.
Mr Opoku expressed the hope that the programme would help transform the conduct of drivers.
During contribution time the drivers appealed to the Ghana Highways Authority (GHA) to provide parking areas along the highways to enable them to rest after driving for four hours as stipulated.
They claimed that sign posts which indicated the nature of the roads ahead were limited, and called on the GHA to erect more.
The drivers commended the Ghana Shippers Council for giving them the opportunity to air their views and also educate them on new road regulations.
Representatives of Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali shippers councils, and members of transport associations were present at the programme which lasted for almost the whole day.