A governance expert, Nii Armah Ardey, has suggested to government to establish road offense courts in the country.
Speaking on the recent rise in road accidents in the country, he intimated that the establishment of these courts will deter drivers from driving recklessly.
“I think that we have not been very angry about these road issues. Because punishment for road offenses has not been punitive enough. There must be punitive measures for road offenses. We have to set up all these road traffic courts everywhere.
“When I talk about setting up of the road courts, it because these are some of the issues. They are not so complex to set up in every district. If we have 19 people dying over a weekend, I mean… just travelling from Accra to Takoradi and then the next thing your family members hear is that you are dead.”
Nii Ardey
He further called for legal education in the setting up of these courts which he stated was important to the country.
“It is not that complex and there are people desirous to take this up. And I continually find it wrong with our legal education. Because these are the issues that can solve it. You have to go to court to seek redress.”
Nii Ardey
Mr. Ardey moreover stated that, the nation will continue to record these roads accidents if “we are not angry enough”. He said if there is a road accident and some body dies, the driver must be held responsible to show them how serious the rules are.
“If someone knows that he will be punished severely for reckless driving, then we will all be careful on the road.”
Nii Ardey
Give out heavy punishment
Mr. Ardey then stated that the punishment which will be meted out must be very heavy on the offender. However, he posited that before the heavy punishment is meted out to offenders, the required resources and structures must be put in place.
“I mean by putting in what we call “Traffic Police”. They don’t need special Police to go through all the rudiments of special policing. These are things that we have seen elsewhere.
“You don’t know where they will be standing but they are there. And because you go beyond certain speed limits, once you know you’ll be caught and arrested, then you will be careful so that on the stretch which leads outside the regions you put the Traffic Police there. So, if they are caught and made to pay heavily for it, they will be careful when they are driving.”
Nii Ardey
Construct good roads
Despite the cause being partially from the drivers, he also attributed the issue to the nature of the roads in country. He called for construction of good roads in this regard.
“Road accidents can be limited to the barest. That is why with good roads, we have to do it. I drove on the motor way yesterday and I saw some number of street lights which wasn’t there some time ago. And there are no more potholes at some places. I felt a little better driving on the road.”
Nii Ardey
