Tema-Ghana, Nov. 03, GNA – The Ghana Police Service has schooled the Joint Association of Port Transport Unions (JAPTU) on the Traffitec-GH, an automated system implemented to enforce road traffic laws and regulations.
The system aims to improve adherence to road traffic laws and regulations, thereby reducing road accidents and injuries.
The automated system was developed by the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service and introduced to the transit operators at the Ghana Ports and Harbour Authority’s (GPHA) New Truck Park in Tema Community One.
At the stakeholder sensitisation forum for the JAPTU, Chief Superintendent of the Police, Alexander Kwesi Obeng, the Director of Education, Research, and Training at the MTTD, said the automated system used cameras and sensors to automatically take photos or videos of vehicles that flout road traffic laws and regulations, such as speeding and jumping red lights.
He explained that it would deploy fixed mobile or in-vehicle and radar gun devices to capture, among others, speeding or jumping red lights, while offences were automatically transmitted to a back office for validation and the issuance of a notification by SMS to the vehicle owner for payment.
Chief Supt. Obeng, who is also the Coordinator of Traffitech-GH, reiterated that other traffic offences like expired road worthiness certificates, wrongful overtaking, non-use of seatbelts, use of mobile phones while driving, driving with an uninsured vehicle, and abuse of sirens would all be enforced under Traffitech-GH.
“Traffitech-GH will always confirm that you committed an offence with a clear photo or video. You would be fined and asked to pay within 14 days from the date of issuance of the notification,” he said.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency on the sidelines of the forum, Mr David Osafo Adonteng, the Acting Director General of the National Road Safety Authority (NSRA), highlighted the importance of electronic enforcement practices in ensuring road safety.
He stressed that these practices did not only enhance effectiveness and efficiency but provide substantial evidence to address road traffic issues.
Mr Adonteng also emphasised that education alone was insufficient without enforcement, as compliance was a necessary outcome of public awareness.
Mr Alhaji Mohammed Tanko, the President of the Ghana National Cargo Transport Association, expressed appreciation for the police’s efforts in first educating the association’s leadership about the new system and subsequently ensuring that their transit operators comprehend the initiative.
He pledged that the association would continue to provide ongoing guidance and awareness to their drivers regarding the new system, with the goal of ensuring complete adherence to its requirements.
