The Police Administration has inaugurated the Police Certified Riding Ambassadors (POCRA) initiative to help curb indiscipline on the country's roads.

This drive which is part of the road safety campaign was held at the National Police Headquarters in Accra last Thursday.

POCRA initiative is aimed at sensitising the riding public on the need to comply with road traffic rules and regulations to reduce the increasing spate of crashes, injuries and deaths attributable to motorbikes.

It is also intended to complement the ongoing Police Action Against Rider Indiscipline (Operation PAARI).

The Police Certified Riding Ambassadors will support police efforts as "they will serve as examples for other riders to ensure that they have insurance, the motorbikes registered and also put on their crash helmets.

"Whiles on the road, they will not ride on the wrong side of the road, they will stop at the red light, they will ensure their pillion riders, if any, are also wearing crash helmets."

The Police added that "the Ambassadors will educate and encourage other riders at every opportunity to comply with traffic rules and regulations.

"Whenever possible, they will share information on other law-abiding riders they come across for such persons to be recognised and celebrated by the police and they will generally serve as examples of road discipline for other riders to emulate."

In all 104 private dispatch motor riders from Accra and Tema were screened and vetted by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Police Service and subsequently taken through an orientation exercise.

The orientation covered topics such as Defensive Riding, Consequences of Rider Indiscipline, Ethics, Customer Care and Road Traffic Regulations among others.

The Ashanti Regional component of the Police Certified Riding Ambassadors was inaugurated in Kumasi on Friday, July 8.

A comprehensive rollout programme for the remaining regions is in place and will soon be carried out to ensure every region benefits from the campaign.

The Police Administration is grateful to individuals and other organisations who supported this novel campaign.

We urge the general public to support the initiative to ensure discipline and the safety of all persons on our roads.