By Eric Appah Marfo, GNA
Accra, Nov. 02, GNA – Some motorists were recorded travelling at speeds exceeding 130 kilometres per hour in areas with posted speed limits of 50 kilometres per hour on the first day of the deployment of the TrafficTech-GH system.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Alexander Kwaku Obeng, the Director of Education, Research and Training at the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) and Project Coordinator of TrafficTech-GH, said the recordings were made on Sunday, November 1, when the system was activated.
He said the Police had deployed the digital enforcement equipment along selected urban roads and highways identified through historical data as high-risk locations for crashes, including areas with speeding, dangerous overtaking and pedestrian-vehicle conflicts.
Speaking in an interview in Accra on Monday, ACP Obeng said some motorists were recorded driving at more than 130 km/h on stretches where the prescribed speed limit was 50 km/h.
He cited roads around Boundary Road, School Junction, Mallam and Kasoa among the areas where the Police gathered evidence of excessive speeding.
He said the findings were particularly worrying because some of the motorists were driving private vehicles, including saloon cars and Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs), despite the presence of speed-limit signs.
ACP Obeng said the Police had issued electronic traffic violation notices to the owners of the affected vehicles, containing photographic and video evidence of the alleged offences.
The notices also carried the vehicle registration numbers, registered owners’ names, dates, times and locations of the offences, as well as the relevant offence, penalty and payment deadline.
He said motorists had two weeks to pay the fines or contest the alleged violations through the online platform provided for the process.
ACP Obeng said the system allowed vehicle owners to review the evidence before deciding whether to pay or challenge the notice.
The deployment was intended to use digital evidence to confront motorists with their driving behaviour and encourage compliance with traffic regulations, he said.
He said speeding remained a major contributor to preventable road deaths, accounting for more than 60 per cent of fatalities arising from road crashes, and called on motorists to reduce their speed.
“Speed kills, reduce it now,” he said, describing the message displayed on the electronic notices as part of efforts to promote safer driving.
On concerns about inadequate or missing speed-limit signs on some roads, ACP Obeng said the Police would continue engaging the relevant road authorities, including the Ghana Highway Authority and the Department of Urban Roads, to improve signage.
He, however, said the absence of posted signs should not be an excuse for excessive speeding, explaining that drivers were expected to understand speed limits based on the nature of the road environment.
He said motorists should generally drive at 50 km/h in built-up areas and 90 km/h on roads outside built-up areas, while observing specific speed limits posted by road authorities.
ACP Obeng explained that natural landmarks, including buildings abutting roads and the presence of human settlements, should alert drivers to reduce their speed, even where signs were absent.
He said speed limits could also vary along the same road depending on pedestrian activity, crash history and the need to protect vulnerable road users.
The Project Coordinator said the system was designed to address dangerous driving behaviour on roads where motorists might assume that Police officers were not present.
He said the deployment followed a period of public education and sensitisation, during which the Police sought to prepare motorists for the introduction of electronic enforcement.
TrafficTech-GH uses digital equipment, including fixed and mobile devices to capture evidence of traffic violations and facilitate the delivery of electronic notices to vehicle owners.
The system, which began full deployment on November 1 after an earlier rollout date of October 1 was deferred for further public education, is expected to strengthen enforcement and improve compliance with road traffic regulations.
ACP Obeng said the Police expected the use of verifiable audiovisual evidence and electronic notices to influence motorists’ behaviour and contribute to reducing crashes, injuries and deaths on the roads.
GNA
Edited by Christabel Addo
Reporter: Eric Appah Marfo
Email: [email protected]