Stop blaming the devil for road accidents and maintain discipline – NRSA to Ghanaians

Pearl Adusu Sateckla, Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), has asked drivers to follow road traffic regulations to help decrease accidents on our roads, particularly during the holidays.

She emphasised the need of Ghanaians not to blame the devil whenever there is an accident and instead to maintain road discipline.

She stated that while the majority of Ghanaians believe in superstition and blame the devil for everything, traffic accidents can be reduced if we maintain discipline on our roads.

In an interview with Nyankonton Mu Nsem on Rainbow Radio 87.5 FM, she stated that if we all keep discipline on our roads, we can achieve the goal of reducing crashes.

She noted that it is your option to live or die, therefore observe the speed limit and quit blaming the devil for road accidents.

“We chose the campaign because Ghanaians are too superstitious and always blame the devil for our problems.” What we forget is that our indiscipline is usually what causes some of these incidents, so we encourage drivers to be disciplined on our roadways. Wrongful overtaking, over speeding, drunk driving, and other illegal behaviours are not caused by the devil. Stopping them will reduce traffic accidents.”

Statistics

According to her, the NRSA’s initiative to minimise road crashes by 2023 has been beneficial, and the progress accomplished is laudable.

She said that compared to the same period in 2022, you will realise the number of accidents, deaths, and injured persons has reduced.

The number of road crashes in 2022 was 13,675, but in 2023, we recorded 12,983, representing 5.06% of the total road crashes.

She also disclosed that the total vehicular crashes for 2023 between January and November were 22, 083 compared to 23, 529 in 2022.

This means that we recorded a 6.14% reduction in vehicular accidents, she noted.

For casualties, 2,179 persons died as a result of road accidents, but in 2023, for the same period, the number was reduced to 2,089, representing a 3.78% reduction in casualties for 2023.

In 2022, 14,249 were injured compared to 14,195 in 2023, representing a reduction of 0.38% in 2023.

On pedestrian knockdowns, she said 2022 recorded 2,434 as compared to 2,119 in 2023, representing a 4.3% reduction.

“When you compare all these figures, you will realise that the campaigns and activities we embarked on have yielded positive results. We have done our best. We are waiting for the figures for December; calculate all of them and see the way forward.”