NRSA, GJA interact with journalists on reducing road accidents

The National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), in partnership with the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), has urged journalists in the northern sector to make issues of road safety an integral part of their reportage and programming.

The move, which is in line with the NRSA’s Arrive Alive campaign, seeks to contribute to a reduction in road fatalities in the country.

Statistics show that an average of about six deaths is recorded on the country's roads every day, including high cases of injuries.

A combination of factors ranging from policy design, implementation, enforcement to discipline on the roads, has been blamed for the spate of road crashes in the country, hence the NRSA's decision to partner with the media to campaign to reverse the trend.

May Obiri Yeboah, the Director-General of the NRSA, who addressed the journalists during the event in Tamale, bemoaned the high number of deaths and injuries on the country's roads and appealed to journalists to feature road safety issues in their programming to change the situation.

Mrs Yeboah also urged journalists to be passionate about road safety reporting and to generate interest among the population on reducing road crashes to ensure safety on the roads.

Affail Monney, the President of the GJA, said the country needed to improve her road safety records and urged journalists to use their platforms to educate the public to promote safety on the roads.

Mr Monney said journalists, who focused on reporting on road safety issues, would receive awards.

Journalists, who attended the event, lauded the Arrive Alive campaign and called for an end to interference by politicians and influential people in enforcement of traffic offences to ensure safety on the roads.