THE MOTOR Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service in the Bono Region says it is rolling out the Traffictech-GH devices on selected roads.
According to the Regional Commander of the MTTD, DSP Robert Anabiik Anmian, the region does not have enough cameras and is therefore deploying the devices only on selected accident-prone roads.
DSP Anmian said sensitisation has been carried out and is still ongoing, with the unit visiting transport organisations including GPRTU, VIP and PROTOA, as well as churches, mosques, lorry stations, radio stations, Pragyia associations and university campuses.
On how the system will operate under faulty traffic lights in the Sunyani Municipality, he explained that Traffictech-GH does not automatically function under faulty traffic lights.
He said the Ghana Police Service is deploying three types of cameras to check speeding. These include fixed cameras mounted at appropriate locations to read oncoming vehicles, Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) which are handheld devices used by police personnel to capture pictures and six-second videos of offending vehicles and transmit them to the back office in Accra for review, as well as mobile vans fitted with cameras dispatched from Accra to major roads.
“These vans are dispatched at the discretion of authorities in Accra and can go on any road in the districts or regions without even the knowledge of district, divisional or regional commanders. These vans don’t bear inscriptions of the Police Service and the personnel are not in uniform, but are capturing offending motorists,” he disclosed.
The Bono Regional Police Public Relations Officer, Chief Inspector Thomas Akeelah, said the vans would be moving from Accra to any part of the region, and cautioned motorists to maintain sanity on the roads.
He said when pictures and short videos are taken and sent to the back office, they are reviewed to determine culpability.
If found liable, the offender receives a fine via SMS or WhatsApp showing the date, description, ticket number, location of the offence and amount to pay.
“The offender has 14 days to pay or challenge the offence. After 14 days, he or she cannot challenge. It shall come through http://www.gh.gov.gh and payment is done through *7100#,” he said.
“Speeding kills, so we want to kill speed before speed kills you,” he added.
He urged drivers to observe speed limits: 30km/h in towns, 50km/h in urban areas, 90km/h and 100km/h on highways, stressing that the cameras only capture motorists who exceed the limits.
He noted that categories of emergency workers such as the police, fire service, ambulance service and the presidency are exempted from speeding offences, but emphasised that any emergency worker using a vehicle registered in their personal name at the time of capture, including Members of Parliament, will be held liable if found guilty.
From Daniel Y. Dayee, Sunyani