7.1 Roadworthiness & Daily Vehicle Checks

7.1 Roadworthiness & Daily Vehicle Checks

Quick Answer: Under Ghana's Road Traffic Act 2004 (Act 683), every vehicle on the road must be roadworthy and hold a valid roadworthiness certificate issued after inspection by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA). Roadworthiness is not a one-time event: before every drive you should check the tires, brakes (foot and handbrake), lights and indicators, mirrors, windscreen and wipers, horn, fluid levels, steering, and seat belts, and you must always carry your licence, registration, roadworthiness certificate, and insurance certificate.

Why This Matters for the Exam

Vehicle safety and emergencies is one of the five Highway Code blocks the DVLA draws questions from; the Authority publishes no official weighting, so treat every block as examinable. Roadworthiness questions are among the most predictable on the exam because they test fixed facts: which document proves a vehicle is fit for the road, what a daily check covers, and classic traps such as opening a hot radiator cap or mixing tire types. Learn this section cold and you bank easy marks.

There is a deeper reason the exam pushes this material. A tired brake hose or a smooth front tire does not announce itself politely — it fails at 80 km/h on the highway. The Highway Code treats the driver, not just the mechanic, as the first line of defence, so the DVLA expects every licence holder to know what a safe vehicle looks like.

The DVLA Roadworthiness Certificate

Before a vehicle may be used on a public road, it must pass a roadworthiness inspection at a DVLA testing station. Examiners check the braking system, steering, suspension, tires, lights, windscreen, mirrors, horn, exhaust emissions, seat belts, and the general structural condition of the body and chassis. A vehicle that passes receives a roadworthiness certificate, which must be renewed at the prescribed intervals and carried in the vehicle.

Driving an unroadworthy vehicle — or one whose certificate has expired — is an offence under the Road Traffic Act 2004 (Act 683). The police, especially the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD), may stop a vehicle, demand the certificate, and order a defective vehicle off the road. Commercial vehicles are inspected more frequently than private ones, but the underlying rule is identical: no valid certificate, no legal use of the road.

Exam trap: the roadworthiness certificate certifies the vehicle's fitness; the driver's licence certifies the driver. Questions love to swap the two. A car with a valid roadworthiness certificate driven by an unlicensed person is still illegal, and vice versa.

The Daily Pre-Drive Check

You do not need to be a mechanic to spot the defects that kill. A two-minute routine before you set off covers the systems that most often fail. Work around the vehicle in a fixed order so nothing is forgotten.

Tires

• Check tread depth across the whole width of each tire; smooth or unevenly worn tires cannot grip, especially on wet roads, and worn front tires are a leading cause of loss of control.
• Check pressure when the tires are cold. Under-inflated tires overheat and can blow out; over-inflated tires reduce the contact patch and braking grip.
• Confirm the spare tire is present, inflated, and usable, together with the jack and wheel brace.
• Never mix radial and cross-ply tires on the same axle. The two constructions flex differently, so the vehicle pulls to one side and behaves unpredictably under braking and cornering. This is a favourite exam trap.

Brakes

• Press the foot brake before moving off: the pedal should feel firm, not spongy, and should not sink slowly to the floor.
• Test the handbrake (parking brake): with the engine off, apply it on a gentle slope — the vehicle must hold without creeping.
• Listen for grinding or squealing and watch for the brake warning light; either means the system needs attention before you drive.

Lights, Indicators, Mirrors, and Glass

• Switch on and walk round: headlights (dipped and main beam), tail lights, brake lights, indicators, reversing light, and hazard warning lights must all work.
• Adjust the interior and exterior mirrors before moving, not while driving.
• The windscreen must be clean and free of cracks in the driver's line of sight, the wipers must clear the glass without smearing, and the washer jets must spray.

Horn, Fluids, Steering, and Seat Belts

• Sound the horn briefly — it is a legal warning device, and a silent horn is a defect.
• Check engine oil with the dipstick, coolant level in the reservoir, brake fluid level, and battery condition and terminals.
• With the engine running, check steering play: a small movement of the wheel should move the road wheels; excessive free play means worn steering components.
• Confirm every seat belt is fitted, pulls out and retracts smoothly, and clicks home — for the driver and every passenger position.

Safety Equipment Every Vehicle Must Carry

Roadworthiness is not only about the vehicle's own condition — the law also fixes a list of equipment that must be in the vehicle. The official Ghana Driver's Guide, published by the Ministry of Roads and Highways, sets out the general requirement:

Two figures in that table are examinable on their own. The requirement is two warning triangles, not one — one goes behind the vehicle and one in front where a breakdown obstructs traffic in both directions. And the fire extinguisher must be recharged every six months; an extinguisher that is present but out of date does not satisfy the rule. Failing to carry a fire extinguisher is an offence under Regulation 69, punishable on summary conviction by a fine of not less than 10 and not more than 25 penalty units, imprisonment of up to 30 days, or both. Failing to carry the advance warning devices required by Regulation 83 is likewise an offence; the DVLA does not publish a single headline figure for it, so learn the requirement rather than a fine.

Maximum Driving Periods

Regulation 118 of the Road Traffic Regulations 2012 (LI 2180) limits how long a commercial vehicle driver may drive before resting, because fatigue degrades reaction time in the same way alcohol does. The rule has two limbs:

• After a continuous period exceeding 4 hours of driving, the driver must take a rest of at least 30 minutes.
• After an aggregate of more than 8 hours driving in any 24-hour period or 500 kilometres — whichever comes first — the driver must take 8 hours of rest.

Note where the phrase "whichever comes first" actually sits: it links the 8-hour and 500 km ceilings in the second limb, not the 4-hour rest trigger in the first. Exam questions and roadside briefings often blur the two limbs into a single list, so keep them separate. On the long Accra–Kumasi and Accra–Tamale runs these limits are not academic — driver fatigue is a recurring factor in Ghana's highway crashes, and the exam expects you to know the 4-hour, 8-hour, and 500 km figures as a set.

Documents You Must Carry

Whenever you drive, these four documents must be with you or in the vehicle, ready to show a police officer on demand:

Failing to produce any of them when stopped is itself an offence, separate from whatever else the officer stopped you for.