Court: Drivers have duty to maintain cars

DRIVERS have a responsibility to make sure vehicles they use are in good condition every day before getting on the road, a court official says.
Lae District Court Magistrate Isaac Tjipet said drivers did not conduct thorough inspection of vehicles before driving them and that had led to accidents which were avoidable.
He said this after converting K300 bail money for Joe Madu, 34, from Salamaua, Huon-Gulf, Morobe, to a court fine.
Madu was charged with driving without due care and attention and breaching Section 28 (2) (a) of the Road Users Rules.
The court was told that on Sept 24, at Boundary Road in Lae, Madu was driving his company’s vehicle without due care and collided with another vehicle.
In a summary report presented in court, police said Madu was supposed to stop and gave way for the complainant’s vehicle to turn right, but, instead, he was allegedly travelling at a high speed and crashed into the other vehicle.
Madu admitted he was at fault for causing the collision but added that his company needed to bear some responsibility as they knew that the vehicle he was driving at time had issues with its brake system but still allowed to be used.