NRSC cautions youth against excessive jubilation during AFCON 2019

The National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) has admonished Ghanaians to be moderate at jubilating during the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) soccer fiesta to save lives.

Mr Dennis Yeribu, the Acting Upper East Regional Head of the NRSC explained that although Ghanaians were football loving people and seasons like the 2019 AFCON called for celebrations, especially when the Black Stars wins any match, people should be mindful of the level of jubilation to avoid road crashes.

The Acting Regional Head gave the advice in an interview with the Ghana News Agency as part of a special sensitisation drive the Commission was embarking on.

The biennial event, hosted by Egypt this year, has been expanded by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) from the previously 16 countries to 24, in which the Black Stars, the Senior National team would be participating.

The competition starts on Friday, June 21, 2019, with the host taking on Zimbabwe in the opening match of the tournament.

This, Mr Yeribu disclosed that the enthusiasm that normally comes along with the tournament lead people to over celebrate without taking road safety into consideration.

He said records were there to demonstrate similar instances that in past tournaments and said when the people were not cautioned to be moderate, the country might face similar challenges, especially with the expansion of the tournament to 24 participating teams.

The Acting Regional Head indicated that people particularly the youth used vehicles including; motorbikes, cars and on-road pedestrian activities on the road and added that they normally disregarded road signs and traffic regulations, causing heavy traffic and road crashes.

Statistics from the Commission revealed that from January to April this year, the Upper East Region recorded 60 crashes and it resulted in 35 fatalities and 63 injuries.

Out of the number of people who lost their lives within the period about 74 per cent were males, while about 86 per cent of the fatalities were people who were above the ages of 18.

Mr Yeribu noted that motorbikes continued to dominate the number of vehicles involved in road crashes in the region and have caused about 63 per cent of the deaths reported and 64 per cent of those injured.

While advising parents to be vigilant and to take proper care of their children and not allow them to join in the celebrations, he reiterated the commitment of the Commission to intensify its educational drive to reduce road crashes before, during and after the AFCON 2019.