Minister attributes most road accidents to human error

Techiman, Dec 05, GNA - Nana Kwadwo Seinti, the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, said on Monday the majority of road accidents recorded within the last 10 months in the region happened through human error on good roads.

The region recorded a total of 259 accidents with 35 fatalities involving 349 vehicles within the period and about 75 per cent happened as a result of human error.

Nana Seinti was speaking at the launch of the 2005 regional road safety campaign under the theme, "Be a responsible user to avoid road accidents" in Techiman.

He said fatigue, drunk driving, over-speeding and impatience had been identified as accounting for most of the accidents. "Everybody is guilty for the unfortunate trend as road safety issues are most often taken for granted and we only appreciate them when loved ones are involved in accidents."

Nana Seinti advised drivers to exercise the greatest restraint on the roads to help reduce the rate of accidents to the barest minimum in order to save lives and property for the development of communities and the nation.

Nana Seinti said the government was determined to put all trunk roads in the region, including Sunyani-Techiman, Sunyani-Atronie, Acherensua-Goaso, Wenchi-Bamboi and Techiman-Kintampo roads, in good shape.

He said police and military patrols to check armed robbery on the highways had been intensified and advised traders to alert the security agencies about any suspicious activities.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Opare Addo, the Regional Commander, advised drivers against flouting road regulations with impunity as the police were determined to bring to book recalcitrant violators as well as reckless motor cycle riders.

Mr. Prince Yaw Donyina, the Techiman Municipal Chief Executive, appealed to stakeholders to help educate against reckless driving and not to limit the execution of the exercise to those in authority. Nana Kofi Kokwa, Brong Ahafo Regional Chairman of the GPRTU urged drivers to be disciplined and to respect passengers as well as their colleagues to ensure an accident-free Christmas.