The Motor and Traffic Transport Department of the Ghana Police Service has issued a strong warning to hearse drivers to desist from blaring sirens mounted on their cars when transporting dead bodies.
Sirens have become a regular feature on hearse in Ghana and are most times used as a means of escaping traffic.
But speaking in an interview on TV3 News 360, the Tema Regional MTTD Police Administrator, Sergeant Richard Timenkah, emphasized that a hearse cannot be classified as an emergency vehicle hence the use of sirens by its operators must not be tolerated.
“We can’t continue this way; we need to change. And this is to the hearse drivers, hearse are not emergency vehicles,” he stated.
Having said that, the regional police administrator stated that his outfit will soon be embarking on a campaign to clamp down on the abuse of sirens by hearse drivers.
“We are going to give them a stern warning that hearse are not emergency vehicles. It is ambulances that are emergency vehicles,” he stated.
He added that the police in their bid to ensure compliance will go as far as seizing the corpse being transported by the drivers who will continue to use sirens.
“We will arrest you, maybe seize even your corpse. We will send your body to the police mortuary. That disgrace don’t come for it. You will be humiliated, let’s avoid this and keep our roads safe,” he added.
