DVLA to introduce more road safety measures

Justice Amegashie, Chief Executive Officer of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), says the DVLA will introduce more measures to enhance road safety in the country.

"As a car owner you have to ensure that your vehicle is in standard condition and also the driver is competent with a valid license." Mr. Amegashie said this on Monday at a stakeholder-meeting on the current road situation in Accra.

He said the DVLA only performed secondary enforcement to ensure that vehicle owners did the right thing.

Mr. Amegashie reminded vehicle owners that if they failed to ensure that their vehicles were in good shape or that the drivers of these vehicles were competent they would have breached the law and could be prosecuted accordingly.

He urged vehicle owners and drivers to find and read DVLA brochures on vehicle safety, adding that these brochures had a lot of information that could promote road safety.

Mr. Noble John Appiah, Executive Director, National Road Safety Commission (NRSC), said the Commission developed Motor Vehicle Operational Standards last year for commercial road transport passenger service operators.

He said these standards included the need for operators to appoint road safety officers, institute a training programme for drivers and ensure vehicles merit minimum DVLA road worthiness standards, among others.

Mr. Appiah said the Commission had from the latter part of last year, been meeting with transport operators in the country to ensure adherence to these standards.

He said those who fall short of the required standards would be expose publicly through the media or black-listed by the NRSC.

Mr. Appiah cautioned road users including pedestrians to be careful and disciplined in order to ensure safety.

The meeting was attended by a cross-section of transport operators in the country, including the Ghana Private Road Transport Union, Inter-city STC, Ghana Haulage Transport Drivers Association, among many others.