Koforidua, Feb. 9, GNA - The Eastern Regional Commander of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service, DSP James Amoah, has asked the courts to help improve traffic compliance by imposing punitive sentences on offenders.

He suggested suspension from driving or the marking of driving licenses of recalcitrant and reckless motorists.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency on Tuesday at Koforidua, DSP Amoah expressed the hope that such punitive sentences could serve as deterrent against bad driving as well as minimise preventable accidents. He said 2,048 vehicles were involved in road accidents resulting in 236 deaths in the Eastern Region from January to December last year. In 2003, there were 1,101 accidents, resulting in 140 deaths.

DSP Amoah noted with concern that most of the major accidents that claimed many lives happened on the good roads such as the Kumasi-Apedwa portion of the highway because the drivers ignored road signs. He expressed his dissatisfaction about the results of the numerous road checks and stressed that his outfit would intensify the campaign to ensure that "our roads are safe for users".

The MTTU Commander appealed to the public to report any recalcitrant or reckless driver to the police so that action would be taken to weed out "those drivers who have no respect for the law".