The Commander of the Motor Traffic,and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service, ACP Angwubutoge Awuni, bas directed his men to arrest persons who talk on mobile phones while driving. The directive, he said, stemmed from the fact that that practice did not only cause accidents but also posed a serious danger to other road users. "I have asked my men to arrest anyone they find talking on a mobile phone while driving because that action poses a danger to other road users," ACP Awuni told the Daily Graphic in an interview yesterday. He said when arrested, those drivers would be put before court and charged with the offence of posing danger to other road users. He appealed to drivers to desist from the practice of talking on phone while driving and instead, park to receive their calls or wait till they get to their destinations. ACP Awuni said the police were also enforcing the law on the wearing of seat belts while driving,adding that drivers should adhere to the practice to avoid being arrested. On road traffic accidents during the Yuletide, he said there had been fewer accidents as a result of the sensitisation programmes carried out at lorry parks, among other places. The programmes, which he said had been carried out with the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) and the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC), had gone a long way to reduce accidents. ACP Awuni said drivers were cautioned against overspeeding, drink-driving and poor maintenance of vehicles, while pedestrians, passengers and other road users were also educated on road safety activities. "I also went to the regions to talk to the regional police commanders and their men on the need to enforce road traffic laws in their regions," he said, adding that the exercise to ensure sanity on the roads would be sustained even after the Yuletide. According to statistics on road traffic accidents made available to the Daily Graphic, 16 people, were killed nationwide during the Yuletide this year, as against 21 last year. There were 150 accidents involving 105 commmercial vehicles, 104 privale vehicles and 22 motorbikes. Thcrc wcre 13 fatalitics, 45 serious cases alJd R7 minol' cases. The Humbcr of pedesstrians knocked down was 24. ACP Awuni commended the media for being supportive of the efforts at reducing road traffic accidents in the country, saying that media outlets, especially the electronic ones, were able to carry educational advertisements on road safety on their networks. On traffic management during the Yuletide, he said with support from the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP), the police were able to manage traffic in heavily patronised commercial centres in Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi and other places. Source: Daily Graphic