The Tema Police have expressed concern about the rate of fatal accidents in the Municipality which have claimed 17 lives within a week.

Addressing a meeting of drivers of commercial vehicles from Tema and Ashaiman, Mr Selwyn Bart Mettle, Tema Regional Police Commander attributed most of the accidents to recklessness of drivers.

He said between October 29 and November 5, three fatal accidents occurred in the area.

The first was when four bodyguards of President Jerry John Rawlings died on the Accra-Tema motorway. A few days later five persons including the driver who were on a taxi travelling from Tema to Kpone were killed on the spot when the cab collided with a petrol tanker. Mr Mettle said the third, was the accident which claimed the lives of eight members of a keep fit club on the Tema-Dodowa road.

The Regional Commander said most accidents could be avoided if drivers observed traffic regulations, exercised patience and refrained from over-speeding. He said most drivers think of monetary gains without any regard for the lives of their passengers.

He appealed to the law courts to impose deterrent punishment on drivers who cause such fatal accidents. The drivers complained about the waterlogged underpass of the motorway and appealed to the authorities to have it repaired to allow free vehicular movement.