Six persons die in road accident daily - Chief Superintendent Bennin

Tamale, May 14, GNA - At least six persons die daily through road accidents in the country, Police Chief Superintendent David Ampah Bennin has said in Tamale. He said 10,000 persons also end up with various degrees of morbidities as a result of road accidents involving about 700,000 vehicles in the country.

Chief Supt Bennin was speaking at the Northern Regional launch of the "Road Safety Campaign" and " Best Driver Award" initiated by Donewell Insurance Company Limited, on Friday. Quoting the Road Safety Dialogue of February 2004, Chief Supt Bennin said from 1993 to 2003, more than 120,000 road accidents were recorded with 15,000 persons killed, 50,000 seriously injured and 70,000 persons slightly injured.

These accidents cost the country more than two percent of the Gross National Product (GNP) annually as a result of loss of lives and working time, material damage and the treatment of victims in the hospitals. He blamed poor road user behaviour, unsafe vehicles and bad roads as some of the causes of these accidents.

Chief Supt Bennin said 60 percent of road accident deaths involved persons aged between 15 and 45 years and 70 percent of this age group were males, the main production group of the country. Giving an overview of accidents in the Tamale Metropolis, Chief Superintendent Bennin said between January and March this year, 68 road accidents were recorded resulting in the death of 14 persons.

In a speech read for him, Mr Victor Larbi, Managing Director of Donewell said the company's gesture was to complement government's efforts to reward responsible drivers who are road safety conscious. The first prize is a 16-seater Toyota bus while the second prize is a 15-seater Kia Pergio bus for the national competition while there will be 10 regional prizes of double door refrigerators for winners.