Nearly one hundred taxicabs operating in the Kumasi metropolis and beyond, were on Monday forced to remove their tinted windscreens, windows and doors in an exercise by the police Motor Traffic and Transport Department in the Ashanti Region, to clamp down on the illegal use of tinted glasses.
The exercise, which started on Monday, seeks to enforce the LI that bars the use of tinted glasses by commercial vehicles and in some cases private vehicles. The Police had prior to the exercise called on drivers to voluntarily remove their tinted glasses.
According to the police in the Ashanti Region, investigations have revealed that some tinted glass vehicles, particularly taxicabs, are used for robberies, abductions, drug-related offenses and also contribute to road accidents due to poor visibility.
Ashanti MTTD Commander, Chief Superintendent Peter Gyimah, told Ultimate Radio the idea for now is to caution the drivers and not to prosecute them.
�I don�t think we want to take anybody to court. We only have to warn them because some of them are not aware of the dangers associated with the use of tinted glasses. So we will just give them the option to remove them and go back to work�.
He however says drivers who flout the warning are likely to face prosecution.
Meanwhile some drivers, whose taxicabs were accosted Monday morning, describe the exercise as harassment.
�I had loaded from Santasi when the police stopped me. I had developed a fault so I couldn�t move from the main road after the policeman took my keys. I can�t start the car again. He arrested me because the rear glass of my car is tinted. My glass is clear, and you can see inside the car even though it�s tinted. I see this as harassment. What I know is that, the police are arresting taxis with tinted glasses but I removed mine yesterday and left only the back which is tinted but not so deep�.
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