The director of health at the Modern Health Center along the Monrovia-Kakata highway, Jefferson Blama stresses an urgent need for the Liberia National Police (LNP) to reintroduce its highway patrol on route.
He says his appeal comes in the wake of frequent motor accidents on major roads in the country, leading to loss of lives and properties.
Speaking at his office outside Monrovia, he attributes most of the road motor accidents to absence of police traffic officers to patrol and closely monitor the movement of vehicles.
Mr. Blama hails the government for its recent pronouncement, requesting trucks plying highways acrossthe country to have extra lighting system, among others, saying it’s in the right direction, but underscores the need for the police to deploy highway patrol officers to arrest and prosecute operators violating motor vehicle law of Liberia.
He reminds that the rainy season is here and operators of vehicles and motorcycles will plying the route with speed simply because of the absence patrol officers to regulate their movement.
“My brother let me tell you; as long as there is no one on these highways to regulate vehicle and motorcycle operators movement, there will be countless road accidents due to the attatitude of some operators, taking advantage of the lack of police officers to monitor their activities on a daily basic”, he explains.
He says the presence of patrol team will restrain operators from being reckless in how they move about on the highways for their own safety and safety of passengers and pedestrains.
Mr. Blama also cautions government not to compromise safety of ordinary people, who are on these highways 24 hours, going about their busy schedules and activities.
He appealsfor increase support to the Traffic Division of the Liberia National Police to ensure that it effectively executes its mandate of protecting lives and properties.
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Due to the lack of highway patrols by the police particularly during night hours, Montserrado County District #16 Representative Adolph Lawrence lost his life along the Robertsfield highway with a female occupant of his vehicle last month while returning from Grand Bassa County when he ran into a pickup truck that had broken down. By Emmanuel Mondaye–Editing by Jonathan Browne
