Audio By Carbonatix
It has become a common sight to find Police officers on duty at Mallam Junction on the Accra Winneba road, watch unconcerned as motorists disregard every thinkable traffic regulations and put the life of road users in danger as well as create a vehicular traffic jam on the highway.
The lawless motorists, mostly commercial drivers, openly call the bluff of the police and hijack and use as a bus stop two out of the four lanes on the high way; forcing all other vehicles to slow down and squeeze into the remaining two lanes.
The situation has become a normal practice that happens before the very eyes of police officers every morning and evening during rush hour.
Several road users alleged to Daily Guide that the commercial drivers are in connivance with some officials of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service and special dues are collected from the drivers thus the police turn a blind eye on their recklessness.
Daily Guide has also observed that in the evenings, a number of motor-bike riders take advantage of the situation and ply the route on commercial basis though the practice has been banned by city authorities.
Interestingly, these motor-bike riders, rather than use the actual road, ride on the pavements of the road and they do not use helmets just as the passengers they pick up also do not use helmets.
Daily Guide further observed that though the chaos starts way before 6:00am personnel of the MTTU normally arrive at the junction around 8:00am at a time the traffic build up has reached the Pambross Junction.
In the evenings, the build-up goes as far as Dansoman Roundabout, through Sakaman and Odorkor and eases only after the chaos at Mallam Junction.
A couple of road users Daily Guide spoke to said they are forced to leave home as early as 4:00 am but still spend not less than five hours before they drive through the traffic.
“If only the Police would do the right thing and control the tro-tro drivers, the traffic would flow a bit, now as you can see, they have taken over two lanes and just park right in the middle of the road to load passengers.
“The construction of the Mallam Tetteh-Quarshie highway has further worsened the situation and common sense would have told them to look for an alternative diversion but nothing of that nature has been done,” Kwame Awuah a resident of Gissel STC complained.
Several other residents echoed the allegation that many of the commercial drivers have publicly bluffed that they have “bought” the MTTU officers to allow them do brisk business during the rush hour.
Source: By Halifax Ansah-Addo/Daily Guide/Ghana
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