Thirty-nine vehicles, were on Tuesday morning, impounded and the drivers arrested on the Tema-Afienya road, by a team of officials from the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service and the Driver Vehicle and Licensing Authority (DVLA). The vehicles were made up of private, commercial and tipper trucks and one motor bike. Superintendent Daniel Ansong-Dankyi, Tema Regional MTTU Commander, who led the team, said the 39 drivers were arrested for various motor traffic offences. Superintendent Ansong-Dankyi said the offences included, driving on the shoulders of the road, over-loading, drunk driving, driving without license and road worthiness documents, as well as expired insurance, among others. The two-and a half-hour exercise, he said, was in accordance with the Inspector General of Police’s (IGP) directive to MTTU Commanders to ensure sanity on the roads, as well as, ensure the safety of passengers, pedestrians, and other road users. He said the exercise would be maintained before, during and after the yuletide festivities. He advised drivers to observe the motor traffic laws, to avoid creating accidents, especially on the Tema Motorway. Alhaji Iddrisu Huseini, Tema Regional DVLA Director stated that officials of the DVLA were on the road to help the Police identify the genuineness of driving licenses and other documents, and to also put rickety vehicles off the road. Alhaji Huseini said drivers of private vehicles were required to renew their road worthiness certificates every year, while that of commercial vehicles must be done every six months. He added that, a lot of things could go wrong with vehicles during the period between the issuance of a road worthiness certificate and its expiry date, and advised drivers to ensure regular maintenance of their vehicles. He said his officers looked out for broken windscreens, defective and broken lights, worn out tires, among others. The Tema DVLA Director cited an instance, when a driver used a plain polythene bag for the vehicle’s back windscreen, instead of fixing a proper one. He also appealed to passengers to exercise patience, and collaborate with the task force, since the operation was aimed at ensuring that, they arrived at their destinations safely. Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Abdulai Mohammed, Ashaiman Police Divisional Commander, reiterated the call on road users to desist from committing traffic offences. ACP Mohammed said the drivers, whose vehicles were taken to the Divisional Command, were being processed for the Ashaiman Circuit Court. He indicated that their vehicles would only be released to them after their cases had been disposed of.Source: GNA