IGP 'Bans' Police From Checking Licences, Documents

Police officers can no longer check the driver�s license, road worthy certificate or insurance certificate of road users, at least, for now. This according to the Inspector General of Police, Paul Tawiah Quaye, who gave this directive in the Upper West Region during a working visit to the area after pockets of violence broke out in parts of the region. He said the police administration has taken the decision following the recent wave of road accidents. According to the IGP, last year there were 2,313 road accident deaths on Ghana�s roads as a �result of recklessness and human errors committed by motorcycle riders, particularly in their failures to wear crash helmets and observe other road regulations.� He said the Police personnel must now concentrate on a strict adherence to road traffic regulations. �We said stop that. If you did that, we will deal with you. In a certain period, concentrate on road traffic management: strict enforcement of road traffic laws,� he revealed. Explaining the essence of the regulation, DSP Cephas Arthur, Acting PRO of the Ghana Police Service told XYZ News that the decision is a temporal measure intended to arrest the irresponsible road use, adding �the directive is not an absolute.� He said �from time to time we (Police) will revise our strategies to fit the situation� and that due to the regular complaints of road users across the country, it has become necessary to find a solution to the road traffic management in the country." He rejected the view that this will increase irresponsible road use stating that the road patrol teams will still be in place to check the careless ones as well as those who are not qualified to be on the road.