Removing parts of vehicles involved in accidents is illegal

Reports by Serah Lagdom ROYAL Papua New Guinea Constabulary Director Traffic Operations, Joe Joseph has urged the public not to remove parts of vehicles which have been involved in accidents.
Joseph said it was a norm in the streets of Port Moresby, and around  the country, for bystanders to remove parts of vehicles involved in an accident before the police got to the
scene.
“The primary role of the police is to protect lives and property, thus, the investigation and accident police unit are the only authorised personnel who will tow the vehicle to the police station.
“Bystanders must only assist in saving lives and not remove parts of or burning the vehicles or even worse, assaulting the driver.
“Accidents are not premeditated and there is a law in place to deal with road accidents,” he said.
Joseph said in a case of a hit and run accident, the victim must get the license plates of the other vehicle with the name and contact details of the driver and report it to the nearest police station.
Joseph said under the Road Traffic Act of 2014, a vehicle driver who has caused damaged to another vehicle must stop and provide their details to the victim for the matter to be later settled at the police station.
“A driver who fails to stop after causing damage to another vehicle is already committing an offence.
“Most hit and run cases are not dealt with when one party fails to corporate making the job of the police even harder,” Joseph said.