Commercial drivers to benefit from road safety training

Commercial drivers in the Greater Accra Metropolis are to benefit from a two-day sensitisation and refresher workshop on road safety.

The workshop, which is tentatively scheduled to take place in Accra from July 21 to July 22, is expected to be attended by about 200 licensed commercial drivers from various organised transport unions within the Accra metropolis.

Dr Doreen Owusu-Fianko, Chairperson for the Women in Logistics and Transport Ghana (WiLAT), at the media launch of the programme on Tuesday, said it was part of the Organisation’s Corporate Social Responsibility to ensure road safety at a time when the country continue to witness horrendous loss of precious lives through road crashes almost on daily basis.

She explained that the pilot project dubbed: “Cease the Blood-Shed on our Roads”, is expected to be replicated later in the major cities of the country.

She said topics to be treated include; an overview of the Road Traffic Regulations, Ethics, Discipline and Professionalism in driving, Principles and Procedures in accident investigations, Causes of road accidents and its prevention, Defensive driving, Road Safety Management and First Aid Administration.

WiLAT, she said is collaborating with the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT), the National Road Safety Commission, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority and the Motor Traffic and Transport Department of the Ghana Police Service, to address numerous road safety issues.

Dr Owusu-Fianko also mentioned the Ghana Private Road Transport Union, other major organised transport Unions and the Ghana Road Transport Coordinating Council as important partners, who would give highlights on the various coordinated interventions being made by the major players in the road transport sector.

According to her the National Road Safety Commission has already made heart-breaking predictions that about 14,000 road transport accidents would occur in 2015, and these could increase to about 14,300 in 2016, and to 4,600 by 2017.

Dr Owusu-Fianko said intensified education through training and refresher training programmes are the only way to prevent the confirmation of the predictions, because it would enhance the capacity of these drivers, and equip them with modern trends in driving architecture, as most drivers lack access to such important training programmes.

Regular training would also help build closer relationship between commercial drivers and key stakeholders in the road transport subsector, educate drivers on important topics in driving enterprises so as to improve their knowledge and create awareness on healthy lifestyles with the view of promoting healthy living.

She urged corporate Ghana to emulate the programme and organise similar refresher courses for their drivers working in their organisations and also to assist the project financially for better outcome.

Mrs May Obiri-Yeboah, Executive Director of the National Road Safety Commission, said road safety is a shared responsibility due to the broad socio economic effects, and advocated wider stakeholder collaboration to ensure a sustainable solution.

Mr Rudolph Beckley, Chief executive Officer of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), warned recalcitrant drivers who defy road traffic rules and regulations to be aware of the stiffer punitive measures that await them should they be arrested.

The DVLA, he said has instituted various programmes aimed at correcting existing in license acquisition, vehicle registration and road worthiness, to ensure total safety in the transport sector.