PMV drivers need driving skills

 By ROBERT TIKI

PUBLIC motor vehicle operators must have good driving skills to avoid road accidents, which have been claiming lives, Western Highlands peace committee chairman Thomas Wama says.

He said vehicle owners had to pay large amounts of money in compensation when their vehicles were involved in accidents.

Wama made the comment last week during the presentation of a K2 million compensation demand for the death of four people in an accident. The demand was presented by the Jika Parliamp tribesmen in Western Highlands to the people of Kombium in Enga.

Four people were killed and 11 were critically injured at the Togoba section of the Highlands Highway outside Mt Hagen last month when a bus belonging to a man in Kombiam district, Enga, swerved off the road and hit them.

A peace committee team and police from Western Highlands travelled to Enga last week to meet with Wabag provincial police commander George Kakas and peace mediators at the Wabag police station to present the demand. The tribe wants the compensation to be paid within two months.

“Vehicle owners face a big problem when accidents happen. What we are witnessing is a classic example of that,’’ he said. He said some accidents were caused by reckless drivers while some were due to mechanical problems in the vehicles.

“Bus owners must ensure their vehicles are in good condition to travel on the road,’’ he said.