Mr.Tony Dickson Afriford, a Road Crash and Injury Prevention Analyst, has called on Inspector General of Police (IGP) Christian Tetteh Yohuno to check the unauthorised use of police dispatch services by individuals.
Mr Afriford, who doubles as the Executive Director of the Green and Safer Mobility Foundation, said the misuse of police riders contributed to indiscipline on the roads and created unnecessary risks for other road users.
He said the practice also undermined the efforts of the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) in enforcing road safety laws.
He told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that there had been several instances of police riders providing escorts to vehicles with DV (Defective Vehicles) number plates, an indication of such vehicles yet to be certified by the Driver and Vehicles Licensing Authority (DVLA).
He explained that since vehicles with DV plates were yet to be recognised by the DVLA, traffic officers might be unable to penalise them for safety violations, stressing that those cars could not be arrested for moving without a seat belt, worn-out tyres, broken lights, or other defects, warning that the trend of providing escorts for such vehicles posed a significant risk to road safety.
He said allowing escorts to be given to such vehicles was worrying, indicating that allowing dispatch riders to provide escorts at will infringed on the road traffic regulations and endangered both drivers and pedestrians.
“Sometimes I get surprised to see a police dispatch paving the way for DV vehicles, especially on weekends, because the DV is a defective vehicle; it means the vehicle is not up to standard. So, imagine a vehicle that is not up to standard and not certified by DVLA to be roadworthy, and then you, as MTTD personnel, are leading that vehicle,” he questioned.
Mr. Afriford said the trend was dominant on the Tema-Aflao highway and the Tema-Akosombo highway, warning that if the current trend continued, it could lead to a breakdown of law and order on the roads, ultimately increasing the risk of accidents.
He appealed to the police administration to uphold road safety laws and work towards making the country’s roads safer for all users while pleading with the IGP and the new Director of MTTD to caution their personnel against such indiscipline on the roads.
He also urged Ghanaians to follow the appropriate procedures when seeking police escorts for vehicles that require special movement, saying that the MTTD had clear guidelines for granting official escorts under specific conditions.
GNA
