Upper East records zero road crashes during Christmas festivities

The Upper East Region has recorded zero road crashes during the Christmas and New Year celebrations, Superintended Williams Kpormegbe, the Regional Commander, Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service, has announced.

During same period in 2018, the region saw five road crashes, which left five people hurt.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Bolgatanga, on Monday, the Regional Commander explained that this was a significant achievement and pledged to continue to work hard to keep the roads safe.

He indicated that the road safety campaign initiatives implemented by his outfit in collaboration with other road safety agencies including; the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) contributed immensely to the success.

He said the agencies worked together to take road safety campaign to the doorsteps of road users including; drivers especially commercial drivers, transport operators and the passengers before and during the Christmas period.

Supt Kpormegbe disclosed that personnel from his outfit were still at post in various communities to provide security and safety and employed the public to give them maximum cooperation to deliver on their mandate.

Mr Dennis Yeribu, the Upper East Regional Head of the NRSA commended the stakeholders including; the MTTD and the DVLA for intensifying education through their outreach programmes and in-traffic sensitisation exercise.

He said the NRSA in collaboration with other stakeholders also trained 200 commercial drivers across the region, covering pre-departure education for both drivers and passengers.

Though the youth were exuberant in terms of riding of motorbikes, it was good to know that no accident was recorded throughout the celebration, he said.

The Regional Head disclosed that the authority was concerned about this year, 2020, as it was an election year and so the management of the authority was working with various political parties to deal with road safety concerns.

“We are wary of the year being an election one with the possibility of political activities being heightened in lieu of road safety concerns, so we have already contacted and shall be working with the political leadership. We want to also enhance education of the populace taking advantage of technology and other social platforms,” Mr Yeribu stated.