Women and children are worse offenders on the road-NRSC

Mr. Alexander Ayattah, the Northern Regional Director of the National Road Safety Commission, has said women and children were the worst motor traffic offenders in the Northern Region.

He said most women did not adhere to motor ridding regulations such as wearing of standardized crash helmets.

Mr. Ayattah said this in Tamale on Wednesday, during the inauguration of a Road Safety Club at the Tamale College of Education.

The club is meant to equip the teacher trainees with road safety campaign skills that would enable them to sensitize pupils when they go to the field to teach.

Mr. Ayattah said reasons given by these women for not wearing crush helmets are “Helmet is uncomfortable, it will spoil my hair style, all die be die, the head is mine not yours’.

He said over 70% of motor bikes in the region were unregistered and only 20% motor riders wear crash helmet.

Mr. Ayattah said 154 people died in the Tamale metropolis as a result of road crashes and called on road users to be responsible to reduce the death toll. On the effect of road accidents, he said the nation loses 1.6% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which translated to a whopping GH¢288 million.

Mr. Iddrisu Dawda, President of the Road Safety Club of the College, appealed to the public to respect road safety regulations and urged teachers to help propagate road safety regulations to support the nation’s quest to reduce road accidents by 26% in 2012.

He presented a television set, digital video disc and documentaries on road safety on compact disc to the school.**