Transport Minister, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah
Following the upsurge of road accidents in the country, Transport Minister, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah today, 29th March 2019, met with transport operators at the VIP bus terminal to discuss, among other things, measures to curb such carnage on our roads.
The meeting according to the minister, was a means of soliciting effective road safety measures to address the high spate of accidents in recent times.
Speaking on the back of last Friday’s accident which claimed the lives of more than 60 persons on the Kintampo-Techiman highway, the minister, Mr. Ofori Asiamah cited indiscipline on the part of a driver on one of the buses as the major cause of the accident. His analysis was drawn from the consistency of stories told by survivors.
To him, the killings on the roads could largely be linked to the reckless attitude of drivers, noting that statistics from the National Roads Safety Commission (NRSC) indicate that about 80 percent of all road crashes were caused by human error, majority of which were linked to indiscipline on the part of drivers.
In effect, he spelled out some measures his ministry and stakeholders have come up with to curb such carnage. Key among them was; The Installation of speed limiters on all commercial vehicles with gross weight of 3.5 tonnes and above, which would be checked by the DVLA and NRSC as well as the MTTD.
Mandatory rest periods for all commercial vehicle drivers which according to the minister would serve the purpose of allowing drivers to “observe a 30 minute rest after four hours of driving.”
Pre-departure checks at lorry terminals to sensitize and educate drivers and passengers on road safety measures as well as mandatory refresher training for all commercial drivers every six months.
The minister also gave the transport operators a two-week ultimatum to fix speed limiters and also ensure that all their commercial buses have emergency doors or risk being inoperative in the subsequent weeks.
He further admonished all road users to ensure discipline and mutual respect for one another in order to reduce all forms of road accidents.
Presentation of Road Safety Gadgets to the Police
As part of efforts to ensure the immediate implementation of the road safety measures, the minister made a presentation of some road safety gadgets to help the police in tracking indiscipline on our roads.
The items included 10 speed radar guns, 10 alcohol detectors and 2,000 reflective jackets.
The gadgets were received on behalf of the Ghana Police Service by Sup. Dr. Sasu-Mensah.
