The Upper East Regional Road Safety Authority (NRSA) has begun an enforcement exercise to stop the use of unapproved lamps on vehicles.
The exercise is in accordance with Regulations 65 of the Road Traffic Regulations, 2012 (L.I. 2180), which seeks to discourage the use of illegal lamps by drivers across the country.
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Bolgatanga, Mr Seth Wiredu, the Assistant Planning Manager of the Regional NRSA, said the use of unapproved lights on vehicles was fast becoming a trend, especially among commercial drivers.
He said the practice endangered the lives of other road users and had contributed to the surge in road crashes on the country’s highways.
Mr Wiredu said the NRSA together with the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) and Driver Vehicle and Licensing Authority (DVLA) formed a task force to stop the menace.
During the month long exercise, the taskforce would sensitize drivers on L I 2180 and also take the needed action to ensure the removal of such lamps where necessary.
“The team would for the first two weeks of the exercise employ offending drivers to self-remove unapproved lamps. However, recalcitrant drivers would be made to face the full rigours of the law in the second half of the implementation period.”
Mr Wiredu called on drivers and vehicle owners to use the standard and approved lights certified by the DVLA to help control the high rate of road crashes in the country.
The LI 2180 states that a vehicle shall have a minimum of two lamps and a maximum of four in front of the vehicle with one on each side.
The lamps should be electrically lighted and should exhibit either white or yellow visible light and not blue and should indicate the width of vehicles without additional lamps fitted above the head lamps or the bottom of the frame of the windscreen.
“A person who contravenes regulation 65 commits an offence and may be fined up to Gh¢ 600.00 or imprisoned for up to three months or both.”
GNA