Dr. Adam Bonaa, a security and safety expert, disagrees with Martin Kpebu, a private attorney, who believes that the police are not required to impounded the automobiles of persons who cannot provide a license when stopped.
The Road Traffic Act, 2004 (Act 683) gives the police discretionary authority to impounded the automobiles of such road traffic offenders, claims the security expert.
"To claim that it is not lawful is false," he said in an interview with GhanaWeb. "The law grants the police that discretion.
On a recent episode of Joy FM's morning show, Martin Kpebu stressed that improper parking is actually what justifies the impoundment of the car.
"A car is not impounded for failure to present a license, and we are not about to do that right now. If they do, the cops will be in violation of the law.You cannot simply take someone else's property. Additionally, the license cannot be taken to the police station by the police.
"If you have a license and it's not with you, you can always go and fetch it," he said. "If you don't, they might prosecute you for driving without a license, and that is another thing.
Dr. Bonaa contends that the private attorney needs to be more knowledgeable and push for a better use of the police's discretionary powers.
He forewarned that the lawyer's claims might have a significant impact on efforts to ensure road safety and reduce accidents.
"Since everything is up to the police's discretion, they are free to utilize it however they see fit. However, the moment you claim that the police cannot imprison your vehicle, you are obstructing a police officer who is lawfully carrying out his official duties.
"My fear is that when these things are stated and those of us who understand them don't talk about them, people suffer believing that I heard it from here, therefore I'm not going to let you seize my car; they impede the cops, and before you see them, they are detained and accused of committing relatively minor traffic violations, he claimed.
Despite his reservations, Dr. Bonaa emphasized the necessity for the police department to put in place a strong system of spot fines that helps to prevent the present scenario in which officers use a variety of tactics, such as impounding vehicles, to make traffic offenders appear in court.
The security analyst pointed out that having an efficient system for spot fines will eventually encourage adherence to traffic laws and decrease accidents.
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