By Emelia B. Addae
Koforidua, Aug. 26, GNA – The Ghana Police Service’s Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) has initiated a process to transition from manual to automated roadside evidence collection to ensure efficiency and accuracy of evidence on traffic violations.
The Department has, therefore, engaged stakeholders in the automation of traffic law enforcement practices as it prepares to deploy technology under the broad term Traffitech-GH to improve policing and road safety.
The Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Emmanuel Twumasi Ankrah, the Eastern Regional Police Commander, said at the stakeholders’ engagement in Koforidua that the police would install cameras and sensors to enable the MTTD to identify, apprehend, and prosecute traffic offenders.
It would also levy automatic penalties to increase deterrence and compliance with traffic laws and regulations.
The Ghana Police Service created Traffitech-GH, an automated system for enforcement, to forestall crashes on the roads.
The Department is doing this with the support of the National Road Safety Authority, Driver and Vehicle Licencing Authority, and the National Insurance Commission, among others, to ensure success.
It is to change road user behaviour related to red-light violations, speeding, driving on the shoulders of the road, vehicle roadworthiness, and not using crash helmet or seat belt among other offences.
“Conforming to the rules and regulations is for our own benefit and would reduce rampant incidents of road traffic crashes and their associated deaths and injuries,” he said.
Chief Superintendent Alexander Obeng, the Traffitech-GH Project Coordinator, said the sensitisation on the project and the Police Invisible Eyes Are Watching (PIEAW) programme were going on nationwide to effect comprehensive communication among Ghanaians.
“If we get the needed support from the major stakeholders such as transport operators, vehicle owners, drivers, community members, motor riders, and the media, we can achieve the goal of improving traffic policing and road safety in Ghana.”
The intervention of PIEAW would eliminate the perceived corruption among motorists and law enforcement officers, reduce interference, and hasten the processes of prosecution and evidence gathering.
GNA