Secure triangles to prevent accidents - MTTD warns drivers

All commercial divers plying their trade in Western Region have been warned by the Motor Traffic, and Transport Department (MTTD) Command of the Ghana Police Service (GPS) to secure triangles as part of their safety tools requirements before hitting the road.

The warning notice followed an accident that occurred yesterday along the Agona Nkwanta-Tarkwa road which resulted in the killing of two persons instantly.

The accident, according to the command, was orchestrated by the driver of a commercial bus whose vehicle had developed fault, and he engaged the services of a mechanic who was under the vehicle repairing it only to be hit by an oncoming bauxite vehicle from Tarkwa, killing the mechanic, and one passenger on board the bauxite vehicle at the spot.

Preliminary investigations by the police revealed, it was lack of an application of a triangle to notify all oncoming vehicles.

The lack of use of triangles by commercial vehicles, the Police Command warned has the potential of causing avoidable accidents in the region and therefore would not be countenanced.

Chief Superintendent Richard Appiah, MTTD Commander who served the warning notice disclosed that the lack of proper use or application of triangles has been the avoidable clause, source, and cause of many accidents in the Region.

He mentioned an updated statistics in 2018, which showed that 108 people in Western Region have already lost their lives through accidents even before the chapter of the year 2018 is closed.

The factors that caused these accidents, he observed were known to drivers including overspeeding, overloading, overtaking, drunk driving, and inadequate use of safety tools.

Nana Akua Ansaah Cobbina, Western Regional Head of National Roads Safety Commission, in an address, explained the four major causes of accidents in the country to the transport operators.

She said human error alone, accounts for 94 percent of the accidents.

Other factors she emphasized include, bad roads, poor weather condition, poor maintenance of vehicles by drivers and car owners among others.

Consequently, she appealed to them (drivers) that they must endeavor to prevent or avoid these factors causing carnage on our roads in order to save precious human lives been perished on daily basis.

In his remarks, Western Regional Chairman of Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Moses Kobla Dotsey Aklorbortu, explained what motivated the GJA to partner Roads Safety Commission to wage the campaign against road traffic offences and accidents.

He said journalists in the Region were critical stakeholders in determining the direction and development of the country, and therefore ought to champion the cause that would not only save human lives, impact social development but support national economy through education, sensitizations to prevent needless accidents causing wanton dissipation of national resources.

He outlined measures adopted by the GJA and Roads Safety Commission to stem the tide of road traffic offences and accidents in the Region and ultimately the country.

A four member National Fire Service team led by Safety Officer ADO1 Eva Quaicoe, who graced the occassion, took the drivers and transport operators through fire demonstrations on how to prevent fire outbreak, fire fighting, and accidents causing fire disasters especially in the transport sector.