97 killed, 663 injured in 1,857 road crashes in 9 months

A total of 97 persons were killed and additional 663 injured in 1,857 road crashes recorded in the Western Region for the first nine months of this year.

Of the total accidents, 747 were vehicle crashes while 928 involved motor cycle with the remaining 182 being pedestrian knockdowns.

Figures from the Western Regional Road Safety Commission showed the total number of accidents recorded within the period involved 382 private cars and 365 commercial vehicles.

A total of 69 cases were classified as fatal accidents with 261 being serious and 359 minor.

Investigations by the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD established that 94 per cent of the accidents were caused by human error arising out of fatigue, over speeding and distraction.

Six per cent of the cases were the results poor vehicle condition and or the poor nature of the roads.

Againts this backdrop, a UK occupational safety and health organisation OHSA Association, with sponsorship from Tullow Ghana, has put together a five-day road safety workshop for all stakeholders in the region.

They included police and military personnel, various transport unions, corporate organisations and the media.

The workshop forms part of Tullow’s commitment to prevent road accidents and its devastating attendant on society.

Tullow’s representative at the workshopp, Korkor Ohene-Djan advised participants to adhere to road regulations and signs, and also share knowledge acquire from the programme with their colleagues.

Country director for OSHA Association Ghana, Thomas Bismarck Boakye observed few road users are acquainted with the road safety Act hence so many people fall foul of the law and gives the Police the advantage to extort from road users.

“Many of us don’t know the law and few people have taken advantage of it to loot drivers. Example is how police take license from drivers,” he observed.

Mr. Boakye reminded drivers the harmattan season and advised them not to compromise information and caution signs, stating “if you are not careful, the hamattan can cause problems”

“The biggest problem in the Western Region is private cars…those who buy the cars without learning how to drive properly especially bank workers,” he observed.

He alleged that some of private car drivers “don’t have license to drive vehicle and majority of them, their road user certificates have expired”. He urged drivers to apply best driving practices since “accidents are not respecter of persons”