Road Safety and MTTD sensitise drivers on accident-free Christmas

The Central Regional branch of the Road Safety Commission and the Agona Swedru Divisional Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service, have embarked on educational campaign to sensitise drivers to ensure accident-free Christmas.

The team visited all the eight branches of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), Progressive Transport Owners Association (PROTOA) and Co-operative Transport Union in Agona Swedru.

Mr Richard Fredua Agyeman, the Deputy Regional Director of Road Safety Commission, said the rationale behind the campaign was to educate drivers on the need to observe the rules and regulations on the road.

Similar educational campaigns were organised at all GPRTU stations in Winneba to sensitise drivers to ensure safety on the road at Christmas. Mr Fredua Agyeman said it was bad for drivers to load passengers from the lorry stations only to perish in the middle of the journey as a result of reckless driving and wrongful overtaking.

He, therefore, cautioned the drivers to be circumspect in their work, stating that it was unprofessional for a driver to drink alcohol while driving.

Mr Agyeman cautioned the drivers not to take advantage of the festive season to speed on the roads and urged them to check their tyres, defective wipers and other fixtures on their cars before embarking on a journey.

He urged the drivers to be careful about the fog, which reduces visibility and results in frequent accidents on the road during the Harmattan period.

He said the Government spent huge sums of money on road accidents annually due to unchanged behaviour on the part of some drivers.

Chief Inspector Sampson Akwasi Boamah, Agona Swedru Divisional MTTD Station Officer, urged drivers’ union executives to always ensure the road worthiness of the vehicles of their members to prevent accidents.

He called on the drivers to wear the approved foot-ware to make them comfortable behind the wheel and appealed to passengers not to push drivers to speed to enable them to reach their destinations early, saying that it was better to reach safely than to perish.

Alhaji Ibrahim Wahab, the Agona Swedru\Bawjiase Chairman of GPRTU, assured the Regional Road Safety Commission and MTTD Officers that the Executive would do everything possible to the safety of drivers, passengers and all road users during and after the Yuletide.

He disclosed that from January to December 2017, the Agona Swedru \Bawjiase Station did not record any accident due to intensive road safety campaigns.