MTTU

Ghana Police Service

In carrying out these functions and activities, personnel of the unit are guided by the following Road Traffic Rules and Regulations.
The Road Traffic Ordinance (RTO) No. 55152 [Parent Law]
L.I. 952/74 (Amendment)
L.I. 953/74 (Amendment)
L.I. 1643/98 (Amendment as to Punishment etc)
L.I. 1605/98 (Amendment Embossment of Registration Numbers)
Act 553/98 (Amendment Careless/Reckless/Drunk Driving and punishment)
Act 556/98 (Amendment; Roadworthiness Certificate)
L.I. 1663/99 (Amendment; Retesting/Suspension of driving licence)
I./ 1662/99 (Amendment; Traffic Offences
Act 567199 (Road Safety Commission Act)
L.I. 1687/2001 (Amendment to 1643 Vehicle Registration and other fees)
L.I. 1592/94 (Use of Petroleum Gas)
Act 34/2002 (Use of Right-hand steering vehicles) etc.
Together, all these laws, rules and regulations yield over 300 road traffic offences. The most prevalent and recurring offences are:

-Passing through red light
-Driving on the shoulders of the road
-Picking passengers at prohibited areas
-Drunk driving
-Overspeeding
-Wrongful overtaking
-Failing to regularize vehicle documents such as Insurance, Road -Certificates, driving licence etc.
-Causing road obstruction
-Causing inconvenience to passengers
-Wrongful selection of lane etc.

Enforcement activities over the last two and half years have been stepped up. For example, in 2002 alone, a total of 7000 cases were prosecuted in Accra in addition to other stations. This fetched a total of 1.8 billion cedis in Court fines to state coffers. From January to June 2003, the Central MTTU in Accra alone prosecuted 2,187 drivers of whom were convicted (excluding other stations in Accra). A total fine of 469,750,000.00 cedis has been realized in Court fines.

As regards accidents for Accra, see the table below for the first quarter of 2003:

NATIONWIDE FIRST QUARTER OF YEAR 2003

There are indications that due to rigorous enforcement activities undertaken by the Unit in recent times, the rate of indiscipline on our roads is going down.