MMT to monitor speed of buses - Visschers

Accra, Dec. 1, GNA - The Metro Mass Transit (MMT), a public mass transport system, is to fix a device, know as Vehicle Tracking System (VTS), in all its vehicles to improve and support the quest for road safety. VTS is a wireless device linked to a computer system which provides regular update on movement, location and speed limit details of vehicles. Mr. Henk Visschers, Managing Director of Metro Mass Transit Limited, was opening a training workshop for its driver instructors in Accra. The workshop, which is the third of its kind, is dubbed "Train-the-Trainer".

It seeks to enhance driving skills of MMT drivers to put the brakes on the high spate of motor accidents especially during the Christmas festivities. About 100 driver-instructors are being trained by a four-member team of instructors from Belgium.

Mr. Visschers said MMT, as part of short-term measures to ensure efficiency, had fixed an electronic speed limit on its buses. He said the device allowed long distance drivers a maximum speed of 90 kilometres per hour. Mr. Visschers said records from the National Road Safety Commission and the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit of the Ghana Police Service indicated that about 95 per cent of motor accidents in the country were caused by human error.

He said MMT had taken measures to prevent drink driving, fatigue and negligence which were major causes of motor accidents. Mr. Visschers said MMT had built rest rooms to enable drivers to relax after driving.

He said to motivate drivers to be more professional, MMT had instituted a scheme to reward hard working drivers. Mr. Visschers said management of MMT had also instituted disciplinary measures to check divers who did not adhere to standard practices in driving. MMT is a public mass transport system established to provide affordable, efficient and reliable transit in the metropolitan and municipal areas.