By Stanley Ove Jr, EM TV News – Port Moresby
The Hiritano Highway in Central Province has a rather unfortunate history of road and vehicle accidents, many of which have claimed the lives of those involved over the past 10 or so years.
While some of these accidents are alcohol related, others have been due to careless driving.
Driving the Hiritano Highway at night can be dangerous proposition. The road has many long and straight parts to it, which for lack of a better expression would put any driver to sleep. But what makes driving the Hiritano Highway, along with many other roads in PNG, so dangerous is the threat of fellow motorists being under the influence of alcohol.
On Friday, EMTV travelled the highway with a team of officers from the Organised Crime Unit here in Port Moresby. We came across a PMV travelling to Port Moresby from Kerema, and the driver was drunk.
When the PMV was pulled over by police, a quarrel erupted between passengers and the crew. Police managed to control the situation and ordered for someone sober to drive the vehicle for the remaining portion of the journey.
In Port Moresby, and around PNG, there have been a number of road accidents that end up in death or serious injuries, many of which can be put down to drink driving.
While police can’t control the number of road accidents that will occur throughout the country, the best they can do is warn those hopping behind the wheel to drive more responsibly.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=9h9EbfZloaI%3Ffeature%3Doembed%26wmode%3Dopaque%26showinfo%3D0%26showsearch%3D0%26rel%3D0
