Ho, May 3, GNA - Mr Johnson Aboagye, Board Chairman of the National Road Safety Committee (NRSC), has blamed the continuing spate of road accidents on sneaky policemen who rather than punish recklessness, collect monies from erring drivers and let them go.

He said these policemen had damaged the image of the entire Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU), so much that the general public would hardly want to report careless driving to any police personnel. Mr Aboagye was addressing the Volta Regional Drivers Awards Durbar in Ho on Wednesday, under the auspices of the Regional branch of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU).

He said members of the public "assume that even if they report to the police they only take bribe and leave the drivers to go scot-free". Mr Aboagye also criticized the police for their inability to investigate road accidents quickly to enable the victims to receive insurance claims due them.

He said the use of motorbikes as commercial carrier in certain parts of Ghana, especially in border towns, was not a known practice in Ghana and therefore illegal and must be stopped. "The Commission wishes to caution the general public in these areas to desist from patronizing the services of these local and foreign registered motorbikes.... for their own safety," Mr Aboagye stated, hinting that there would soon be unannounced checks to apprehend the operators.

He appealed to the GPRTU to provide services in areas where the motorbikes operated so that their withdrawal would not affect the movement of the people.

Mr Aboagye also expressed dismay at the number of drivers plying the roads who speed through towns and villages at between 100 and 120 kilometres an hour instead of the boldly displayed allowed limit of 50 kilometres an hour.

He urged drivers to see themselves as professionals, have confidence and do the right thing observing that a medical doctor's mistake might result in one death but that of a driver could cause many lives.

Mr Elvis Gbesemate, Volta Regional Coordinator of NRSC said the cost to the nation from accidents aggregated to between one to three percent of GDP, about 10 million dollars monthly.

He advised members of the GPRTU to attend refresher trainings in driving organized by the Commission periodically, saying that, "human error by all road users contributes to over 80 percent of fatalities in the country".

Mr Moses Davor, Volta Regional Chairman of the GPRTU in a speech read for him called for the expansion of commercial vehicle terminals in Ho, Kpando, Hohoe and Aflao to cater for the increasing number of vehicles that operated there.

He wondered if the government could not have provided support for the GPRTU to run the shuttle bus services being operated by the Metro Mass Transit Company Limited (MMT).

Mr Kofi Dzamesi, Volta Regional Minister announced that government was arranging a special vehicle purchase facility for GPRTU members and called for cooperation among all road transport unions in the country. He presented a cheque of five million cedis promised by the Volta Regional Coordinating Council (VRCC) to the GPRTU Drivers Wives Association (DRIWA) at its inaugural ceremony three years ago. The Minister later commissioned a Benz Mini bus presented by the Volta Regional Secretariat of the GPRTU to DRIWA for use as a Welfare Bus.

Awards were presented to 93 members for outstanding performance as drivers at the regional, branch and local levels and others for their contribution to the affairs of DRIWA.

Three retired drivers Togbe Tenu, Edzorna Abledo and E.A.K Zevor alias Z and Co were honoured for their meritorious service to the GPRTU.