AMA announces campaign to curb drinking and driving

The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), in collaboration with the Motor Transport and Traffic Directorate (MTTD) of the Ghana Police, has launched a communication initiative to remind drivers of the dangers of driving after drinking.

A statement issued by AMA and copied to the Ghana News Agency said the campaign dubbed: “Charley, Dey Guard – Never Drink and Drive”, aims to save lives, reduce the financial burden of road crashes and keep residents of Accra safe and healthy.

The statement said during the festive season and beyond the campaign would highlight the devastating impact of drink-driving on road safety. It said the communication would be conducted in tandem with enforcement activities by the MTTD and a special MTTD task force and the AMA Bloomberg Initiative for Global Safety (AMA-BIGRS), would conduct drink driving enforcement throughout Accra.

The statement said the task force was equipped with world-class breathalyzers to accurately measure drivers’ blood alcohol content and the campaign, featuring a first-hand account from a road traffic crash survivor, would run on social media and on billboards throughout the city through the New Year’s season.

It said driving required total concentration, good coordination, rapid reflexes and the ability to make correct judgments and decisions and drinking alcohol, even a small amount would diminishe each of these prerequisites.

The statement said the World Health Organisation had identified fatalities and injuries that result from road crashes as a major public health issue.

"More than 1.2 million people are killed in road crashes each year around the world, with another 20-50 million people sustaining severe and often debilitating injuries.

"Data from the Ghana Police and the National Road Safety Commission shows that over a period of five years between 2011-2015, 13,616 road crashes were recorded in the City of Accra, with 951 of those events being fatal.

"Provisional data for 2017 shows that as of the start of November, 257 road users in the City of Accra have lost their lives on our roads", the statement said.

It said the AMA was poised to improve the quality of life of people living in Accra by providing leadership and opportunities for social and economic development whilst maintaining a clean, healthy and secure environment. The statement said since road safety was an integral part of the quality of life of city residents, the AMA was working in collaboration with its partners to reduce road crashes, fatalities and serious injury on city streets.

It said the Ghana Road Traffic Act (ACT 683) Section 4 stipulates that “a person who, while driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle on a road, is under the influence of alcohol or drugs to such a degree as to be incapable of having proper control of the vehicle commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction”.

The statement said in Ghana, 0.08mg/ml was the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit for drivers and the BAC limit was a measure of the amount of alcohol in a person’s blood.

"At this BAC, driving is impaired by worsening judgment, increasing (slowing) reaction time, lowering alertness, and hampering vision. However, there is no

“safe” level of alcohol consumption for competent driving.

"Even after just one alcoholic drink, a person’s driving ability is compromised, greatly increasing the chance of causing a road crash. The penalty for drink driving ranges from a fine to a term of imprisonment", the statement said.