NRSC warns drivers to travel with valid license

It is an offence for commercial drivers to leave their licenses at home while they are at work, Mr Yaw Asante, Assistant Planning Officer at the Brong-Ahafo Regional office of the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC), has said.

He said the Commission had begun an enforcement exercise, and entreated drivers to carry their licenses with them always, as those who flout that directive would be arrested and prosecuted.

“We will not accept any excuse if you are caught driving without a valid license”, Mr Asante told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview after conducting an exercise on some major highways in the Techiman Municipality.

He noted that commercial drivers who did not have valid driving licenses, claimed they left them at home whenever they were arrested, and said such excuses would no longer be accepted.

Mr Asante said the enforcement exercise was being collaboratively undertaken by the Commission, Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Police Service, and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA).

It aimed at ensuring that drivers strictly adhered to all road safety requirements and regulations to curtail road crashes in the region before, during and after the Easter festivities.

He said the exercise would be extended to Goaso, Berekum, Sunyani, Yeji and Atebubu, warning that drivers who would be arrested in any form of road safety offence would be prosecuted.

Mr Asante said since road safety was a shared and collective responsibility, passengers ought to play their part by wearing seat belts whenever they boarded vehicles.

He reminded drivers that with the onset of the rainy season, highways would be slippery and advised them to always check their lighting systems and avoid over-speeding.