Completely unnecessary - Dr. Bonaa kicks against L.I to allow MPs, ministers drive with sirens, above speed limit

Safety and security analyst Dr. Adam Bonaa has described a Legislative Instrument introduced in Parliament to amend portions of the Road Traffic Regulations 2012 as unnecessary.

According to him, the amendment, which will grant Members of Parliament (MPs) and Ministers of State privileges previously reserved for emergency and specialized vehicles, could be a recipe for disaster in terms of contributing to road traffic accidents.

“If we were to make a law and say that now MPs are going to have sirens and no speed limits, chances are that we would run into trouble. As far as I am concerned, I do not see the sense in that, I must confess. I don’t think it is a good idea for them to create problems for themselves,” he told GhanaWeb in an interview.

The amendment of Regulation 74 of L.I 2180 will allow the fitting of sirens or bells as warning appliances on specific classes of vehicles, including those owned by justices of the Supreme Court, MPs, and Ministers of State.

This means that these individuals can use sirens to navigate through traffic.

Additionally, an amendment of Regulation 166 of L.I 2180 will exempt MPs and Ministers of State from speed limit regulations.

However, according to Dr. Bonaa, government officials who are not under the current laws granted such privileges should rather resort to police assistance if there is ever the need to drive with a siren or without speed limits.

“I think it’s completely unnecessary, uncalled for. If MPs and ministers who are not covered by the law that allows them to use sirens think they would want to use sirens, they should call the police. They should let the police know they want to be assisted in weaving through traffic.

“But to have an open policy and say every parliamentarian, every minister should be allowed to use sirens, the trouble is that we are going to be seeing lynching in town because then if you run over people and people die, you are going to have mass demonstrations. You are likely to have mob actions,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Dominic Ayine, MP for Bolgatanga East, has defended the proposed amendments, noting that they will allow MPs and ministers to deal with certain exigencies beyond their control.

GA/SEA