Road Traffic (Amendment) Regulations to allow MPs to use sirens and avoid 'traffic congestion' withdrawn from Parliament

The Road Traffic (Amendment) Regulations, 2024 legal instrument (L.I.) that will grant privileges to certain officials of the state to use sirens or bells as warning appliances on specific classes of vehicles has been withdrawn from Parliament.

This is following public debate condemning why Members of Parliament should not be exempted from joining 'traffic congestion' same as all other road users and a call for immediate withdrawal of the proposed amendment to the Legislative Instrument (L.I.) before it matured into law after 21 days.

The Minister of Local and Rural Development, Martin Adjei-Mensah Korsah, withdrew the instrument on the floor of Parliament on Tuesday on behalf of the Minister of Transport, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah.  

Withdrawing the instrument, Mr Korsah said “Mr Speaker, I rise to move that the Road Traffic (Amendment) Regulations, 2024, which was laid on Friday, June 14, 2024 be withdrawn.

“Mr Speaker, this has become necessary based on extensive engagements by leadership; it is so withdrawn,” he said.

The instrument, which will amend portions of the Road Traffic Regulations 2012, would have allowed vehicles owned by justices of the Supreme Court, Members of Parliament and Ministers of State to use sirens on official duties.

Why L.I.”?

The legal instrument was laid in the House by a Deputy Minister of Transport, Hassan Sulemana Tampuli, on June 14, 2024.

The instrument, if passed by the House, will allow specific officials of the state to use sirens or bells as warning appliances on specific classes of motor vehicles in the performance of official functions.

It will also remove speed limits on motor vehicles which is being used by these state officials.

They include the President, the Vice President, the Speaker of Parliament, the Chief Justice and Ministers of state.

Others are the Justices of the Supreme Court, Members of Parliament, the Ghana National Fire Service, the National Ambulance Service, the Police Service, the armed forces, the Prisons Service and other recognised government security agencies.

In December 2020, Parliament passed into law the Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2020 which introduced stiffer punishment for road traffic offenders whose actions lead to the death of an unborn child.