Vehicle owner fined for failing to insure vehicle.

Tema, March 22, GNA- Tema Circuit Court "B" has fined a tipper truck owner one million cedis for failing to insure his vehicle and allowed his driver to use it on the road.

Teye Bernard pleaded guilty on a charge of permitting the use of un-insured vehicle on the road, and will go to jail for three months if he fails to pay the fine.

In the dock with him was his driver, Nathaniel Teye who pleaded not guilty to counts of driving without due care and attention, negligently causing harm to five persons and driving with defective lamp and will re-appear on March 29.

Prosecuting, Police Chief Inspector Mary Assunta told the court presided over by Mr Charles Asiedu that on August 25, 2003, Nathaniel was in charge of Leyland tipper truck number GR 9177 L with defective headlight and was driving from Prampram to Ashaiman in the night. She said on reaching a spot called Mitso near Dahwenya, the driver decided to overtake a vehicle in front of him and in the process, left his lane of the road onto the other facing an oncoming Nissan Urvan with registration number GR 9876 P which was carrying eight passengers, on the opposite direction.

While the two vehicles got closer, Nathaniel realised that he was driving on the wrong lane and quickly swerved off the road to avoid a head-on-collision but the bucker of the truck hit the Urvan bus. Chief Inspector Assunta said the Urvan somersaulted several times and all the nine persons including the driver were seriously injured as well as two mates on the tipper truck. They were all sent to the Tema General Hospital for treatment.

During the cause of investigations, it was realised that the tipper truck was un-insured, but Bernard permitted the use of the vehicle.