Stop ‘drink driving’

 MOROBE Governor Kelly Naru has called on the police and Land Transport officers to clamp down on drink driving, speeding and reckless use of vehicles.

Naru made the call yesterday following two accidents in Lae over the weekend.

Four women, including two Grade 12 students, were killed in an alleged hit-and-run case at Cassia Crescent in Eriku last Saturday. 

Another woman is in a critical condition at the Angau Memorial Hospital.

One person died in the second accident at Chinatown, with another hospitalised in critical condition.

Naru expressed disappointment when he learnt that the accidents involved vehicles bought with public funds and the drivers were allegedly driving under the influence of liquor. 

“For too long all over the country, traffic police have turned a blind eye to drink driving and speeding and this is the case in Morobe province and especially in Lae city,” Naru said.

“For too long police just let offenders off by confiscating their alcohol, pouring it over their heads or making them do push-ups.

“This is illegal. It has never fixed the problem.

“Police must apply the law, arrest, charge and lock up traffic offenders, including those who drink and drive and those who disregard traffic laws by speeding, especially PMV (public mother vehicle) bus drivers.”

Naru said too many careless drivers and those under the influence of alcohol were causing chaos on the streets of Lae and in and around Morobe’s three main highways.

“Confiscating alcohol does not stop a drunk driver from doing that same mistake,” he said. 

“As long as they remain behind the wheels of a car, they are a danger to society.

“They will repeat the same offence if no action is taken to prevent them in the first place.”

“You never know. Your family might be walking home on the road and in the path of the drunk you just set free.

“Always do your job diligently and with care for the safety of the driver and passengers and also for pedestrians, property and the general public.

“In Lae, I see a lot of people walking because it is relatively safe but there are too many unroadworthy and faulty motor vehicles on the roads.

“I have seen PMV buses driven like they are on the race tracks. 

This is unsafe. How did these drivers get their licences in the first place?” 

The Governor added that the pedestrian walkways are poorly planned and too close to the main roads, putting innocent lives at risk.

Naru appealed to police to fast-track  investigations into accidents and have the perpetrators arrested and charged.