PRESENTATION

MINIMIZING ROAD CARNAGE: THE ROLE OF THE MTTU IN POLICING AND PROSECUTING MOTOR OFFENCES.

ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF POLICEBYANGWUBOTOGE AWUNI CO, N/MTTU,ACCRAGHANA POLICE SERVICE

1INTRODUCTIONSTATISTICS FROM MTTU(jan-june,2011)NO OF CASESVEHICLES INVOLVEDINJURIESDEATHS644992226209

10812Scene of RTA

HIT & RUN TANKER KILLED TWO HERE3Scene of RTA

19 DIED HERE4

Guess the outcome?5

6ContdThe reality of the situation is that the havoc of road traffic accident is attributable to traffic indiscipline and all efforts should be put on the to counteract the problemThe road is now a death trap instead of facilitating movement from one place to anotherThe question is ,why in spite of the known causes of road traffic accident, the problem still persist?The answers are no far fetched7ContdRoad safety in some countries with best practices has been built around the four Es of road,safety-Engineering,Education, Enforcement and emergency response.

A deficiency in one of these four Es in road safety results in dire consequences for any country.

In Ghana, efforts are made to roll out the four Es of road safety strategy but are fraught with many challenges.8STRATEGIES BY THE MTTU TO COMBAT CARNAGE ON GHANAS RAODSThe police administration has placed issues of traffic management and road safety management high on its agenda. The 5 year strategic National Policing plan has adequate and elaborate strategies towards halting the ever increasing carnage on our roads.9OPERATIONTraffic personnel are routinely deployed to decongest areas prone to traffic jams and congestion, particularly intersections and roundabouts during morning and evening rush hours. The police high command has dispatched a team of officers, drawn form the headquarters formation to augment the capacity of the MTTU to manage traffic and reduce the spate of traffic collision and congestion on our road.10ContdTraffic personnel are also assigned to accident-prone areas to check over speeding and drunk driving as well as to deal with other acts of indiscipline.

The objective of these operation is geared towards making MTTU officers exert their presence and make them visible on the highways on daily basis to ensure compliance of Road Traffic Laws and regulations.11EDUCATIONFrom 2009 up till now, a team from the MTTU through the Transword Consulting Service Limited has trained about One hundred and fifty (150) VRA drivers.

Feedback from the Transport department of VRA indicates that traffic accident recorded by VRA drivers over the past two years has reduced by fifty percent (50%).1212ENFORCEMENT AND INVESTIGATIONS The following specialized teams have been constituted to facilitate the work of the MTTU:Motorized Highway Patrol TeamsTowing Services TeamsTown Patrol TeamsInvestigations and Processing TeamsTraffic Management TeamsAccident Investigations SquadsPresidential Route TeamThe Research and Education Team

13ContdThe traffic offences Management systems TeamDispatch Riders teamIt is the intention of the command to create a team to deal with the Okada which is now a source of concern if manpower and the logistics situation improve.Red light team. 14ContdFrom January to June this year, the teams in place have been able to make 4,020 cases. Out of that number, 2117 have been convicted GH462,272 has been bagged into the consolidated fund as fines from the conviction.15CHALLENGES OF MTTU General Command & Control of the Police MTTUThe major problem within the existing MTTU of the Ghana Police Service is its lack of a clear command structure within the overall service.

The Assistant Commissioner responsible for NMTTU is in reality only in command of Accra Central, and lacks authority in Greater Accra, let alone the rest of the country. 16Contd This provides no opportunity for preparing a strategic enforcement plan for the major highways where a high proportion of serious accidents happen.

MTTU in Regions outside Accra are under he command of the various Regional Commanders.

The National MTTU lacks the operational capacity to operate in regions outside the Accra Central Business District.17MANPOWEROut of the total police strength of 2o,ooo the MTTU, makes for only 8.89 %The number is woefully inadequate and leaves the personnel thinly spread on the groundMost of the personnel are on temporary attachmentExpertise and experience gained are taken awayDivisional ,district and unit points are left unmanned, because the men are withdrawn for important assignmentsTraining programmes most often abandoned18VEHICLESOnly a handful of MTTUs can boast of reliable vehiclesThe national MTTU boast of only 5 vehiclesMTTU lacks all manner of vehiclesVehicles are old and unreliableImportance duties are therefore abandoned, because vehicles break down midway19MOTORCYCLESMotor cycles are needed for protocol escort duties and traffic patrols in towns and highways140 motorcycles were acquired in 2006Only 15 are now serviceableThey are now old and unserviceableThis affect the MTTUs ability to meet its obligation20MOTOR HEARSEThe MTTU has no motor hearse to support it in times of emergenciesTransporting dead bodies in terms of fatal cases is always challengingThe unit lacks the capacity to deliver this service and quite often has to improviseWhere a service vehicle is not available conveying dead bodies resulting from motor crashes is always a problem

21POLICE TOWING SERVICEThe service has virtually collapsedThe two vehicles spend more time in the mechanics workshop than in active services22ENFORCEMENT EQUIPMENTMost traffic offences are strict liability offencesThey therefore require concrete evidence to facilitate prosecutionThe MTTU needs equipments such as speed radar guns, magic lights, Alco- meters, digital video cameras, digital height gauges etc to support human effortsOver the years the unit has depended on charity from individuals and corporate bodies for the supply of those itemsMay of these items have broken down due to over usage

23KEY CHALLENGE Non availability of Enforcement equipment

2424POOR KNOWLEDGE IN TRAFFIC LAWSThere is generally poor knowledge of traffic rules and regulations by road users in Ghana.25PUBLIC INTERFERENCEUndue interference in traffic offences investigations and prosecution militates against the units effectivenessInterference in cases has always been linked to weakness in enforcement and corruptionMost persons perceive traffic offences as insignificantOthers obstruct police through interventions ad pleadings for mercyThis demotivates and encourages corruption among the police26CHALLENGES WITH PROSECUTION The process of justice will not be complete if an arrested motorist is not dealt with in our court of law.Example Tracing the whereabouts of witnesses to testify in pending cases is difficult.such requests in many instances lead to the discharge of the accused;

27Failure of court to award stiffer punishments. We therefore heaved a sigh of relief when it was recently announced that a court complex was going to be built. This will allow the courts to deal with a few more cases than is the case now. There are difficulties at times to display pictorial evidence at the court as a result of the absence of modern technology that admit such evidence, i.e. video recordings of offending drivers;28ROAD FURNITUREDeficiencies in road infrastructure regarding potholes poor or inadequate road signage and markings, absence of laybys and non- functioning traffic lights are also hampering the operations of the MTTU29

Drivers are often irresponsible and careless of other road users and have little respect for traffic law.Indiscipline-key challenge30THE WAY FORWARDThe needed Traffic Discipline in Ghana can be assured through:Streamlined command & control issues related to MTUs in Greater Accra.Intensified road safety education, information and publicity to create greater awareness among motorists and the general public.Improvement in the training and development of drivers to improve their professional skills.Strict enforcement of provisions in the Road Traffic Act, Act 683 of 2004 and Regulations.

31MTTU to increase Police visibility on our roads;Transport Operators with MTTU support to conduct basic checks on drivers and vehicles at lorry stations for compliance of some basic safety requirements prior to embarking on their journeys. NMTTU and DVLA to intensify enforcement of traffic laws and regulations; 32As regards long term measures, I recommend an enhancement of the capacity of the MTTU to enforce the provisions of the Traffic Laws and Regulations. Some suggested actions towards this effort include;Increases in numerical strength of MTTU to 25% of the Police Service Strength.Regular in-service training programme for MTTU Staff to enhance their professional capacity.33Procure traffic enforcement equipment to support human efforts.Promulgation of Traffic Regulation brought/sent to Cabinet so that Spot Fines can be enforced for minor traffic offences.

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MayGod bless you !

35Thank you End of presentation36