The Ghana Police Service has identified excessive speeding as a major cause of preventable road crashes, attributing about 60 per cent of road fatalities to the offence.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Alexander Kwaku Obeng, who is Director of Education, Research and Training at the Police Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD), said motorists who exceed prescribed speed limits expose passengers, pedestrians and other road users to considerable danger.

Speaking in an interview on the planned deployment of the TrafficTech system on Joy FM's Super Morning Show on Wednesday, August 26, ACP Obeng said the technology would allow the police to use cameras and other devices to detect and document traffic violations.

He cited motorists driving above 50 kilometres per hour in school zones and densely populated areas, as well as those exceeding 100 kilometres per hour on motorways, among the dangerous practices the system would target.

According to him, the required hardware and software have been procured and are undergoing testing, while a back-office system has also been developed to support enforcement.

He said the Ministry of Transport, with support from agencies within the road safety management sub-sector, was expected to undertake the necessary certification process.

“We hope to issue court notices to those who may be violating speed limits in their vehicles,” ACP Obeng said.

He explained that the TrafficTech initiative was backed by Regulation 242 of the Road Traffic Regulations, 2020 (L.I. 2519), which provides for automated road traffic offences and fines.

The police are also developing a mobile application that will enable officers to use handheld devices and smartphones to gather evidence of traffic offences on the roads.

ACP Obeng said the digital enforcement approach would reduce the practice of stopping suspected offenders and taking them to police stations, as evidence captured by the devices could be used to pursue the vehicle owners or drivers involved.