Fifty unregistered and unlicensed motorbikes in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis have been impounded in a joint operation by the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) and Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service.

The exercise, carried out on major routes in the Metropolis, on Thursday, aimed at arresting the high rate of motorbike crashes recorded by the Commission in recent times.

Two months ago, two naval ratings riding an unregistered motorbike were knocked down by a mini-bus and killed in the process at Fijai.

Another rider was killed at the frontage of the Star of the Sea Catholic Cathedral in Takoradi when he was knocked down by a taxi cab.

The Western Regional Manager of the NRSC, Mr. Samuel Oberg As amah, told the GNA that motorbike crashes in the region stood at 11 per cent at the end of the third quarter and it required concerted efforts to minimize it.

He stated that some of the riders arrested were not wearing crash helmets thereby exposing themselves to danger in the event of accidents.

He said they would be processed for court and prosecuted to serve as deterrent to others.

Even though the use of motorbikes for commercial transport, popularly called “Okada”, is not prevalent in the Metropolis, some individuals and organizations use them in view of their convenience and their ability to meander their way through heavy traffic to get to their destinations faster than commercial vehicles.

Meanwhile, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Michael Daniel Zah, Regional MTTD Commander of the Ghana Police Service, has said vehicles owed by city guards were largely to be blamed for illegal loading at unauthorized places in the Metropolis.

In view of this, he said, it had made it difficult for the police to check unauthorized loading points and traffic congestion on certain routes in the Metropolis.

“Sometimes, we undertake snap checks to arrest and fine vehicles loading at unapproved places in the Metropolis, but because some of these vehicles are owed by the metro city guards, they find their way back to the same spot where we arrested them,” he said.

He was speaking at a stakeholders meeting in Takoradi to deliberate the possible strategies to adopt towards combating road crashes and fatalities in the region.