The suspension of inspection of drivers’ licences and other documents on the country’s roads by the Ghana Police Service will have adverse effects on the insurance sector and the country as a whole, insurance consultant Edgar Wiredu has cautioned.
“The implications and the consequences will be very devastating,” he said.
The directive is a concern for insurance due to the possibility of increased incidence of accidents as predicted by the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC), which is worried that over 1,500 accident-related deaths from January to September 2016 have already been recorded.
Mr Wiredu explained that a similar surge in road accidents in the ’90s led to mandatory subscription to, and distribution of insurance stickers for motorists to display on their vehicles.
The Director of Public Affairs of the Ghana Police Service, Superintendent Cephas Arthur, who spoke in an interview on Class FM’s Executive Breakfast Show, justified the directive and explained that it would rather serve the best interest of Ghanaians and was in no way a boost for chaos on the roads.
He added that there were exceptions to the directive and offenders of road traffic regulations would not be spared.
“Let me also state that this is not a withdrawal of the road traffic regulation and to every rule there is an exception. If a police officer is working and sees you driving so badly, swinging from one side to the other and he stops you, you can’t tell him that, ‘Your boss says you can’t check my licence’. And so if he arrests you and takes you to court, the court will not say that, ‘Your boss said suspend motor checks so the laws governing traffic regulations have also been suspended…” he said.
But Mr Wiredu insisted that the impact of the order on the insurance sector in terms of accidents cannot be overlooked.
“For those of us in the insurance industry, we know the kind of problems we will suffer when people’s road worthiness certificates, licences, and insurances are not checked,” he insisted during an interview on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Wednesday, October 5.
Source: Ghana/AccraFM.com
