Government to inaugurate quality assurance units for road safety

Accra, Oct. 6, GNA - Mr Collins Dauda, Minister for Transport said government would inaugurate quality assurance units to ensure vehicles loaded at terminals were in good conditions for road safety.

Mr Dauda said research indicated that 80 per cent of the road accidents were caused by human behavior, adding that there was the need to initiates pragmatic policies to curtail the road menace.

The Minister was speaking at a forum on Wednesday at the Circle Neoplan Lorry Station in Accra to sensitise drivers and passengers on the need to ensure road safety.

The programme on the theme: “Road Safety: Our responsibility”, was in collaboration with National Road Safety Commission, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency(DVLA), Ghana Private Road Transport Union and the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU).

He said the exercise at the lorry stations offered opportunities for drivers and passengers to interact personally in voicing out their concerns about the spate of road accidents which had recently engulfed the country.

Mr Dauda said the Ministry had organised similar educational exercise in Kumasi at Kedjetia and reiterated that the Ministry would extend the exercise to Kaneshie Lorry Station, Tema Station in Accra and the regional capitals.

He noted that government had mobilised logistics in support of the Police Service and increased the presence of Police patrols on the highways at a short interval.

The Minister said there was the need for all to put hands together in finding lasting solutions to road accidents.

He cautioned reckless and irresponsible drivers to be careful and warned that any driver caught in the act would face the full rigorous of the law. He also told passengers to be courageous to call a driver to order when driving carelessly.

Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Alexander Kweku Obeng at the National MTTU in charge of Education, Research and Training said statistics available to the Police Service indicated that from January to September 2011, 10,041 cases of road accidents were recorded compared to 9,997 recorded last year.

ASP Obeng said of the cases recorded for 2011, 1,679 were reported dead compared to last year figures of 1,333, and 9,980 were injured compared to 9,728 recorded for last year.

ASP Obeng cited unlawful overtaking, worn-out tyres, driving without license, failure to observe road regulations and drunk driving contributed to road accidents.

He urged drivers and passengers to wear seat belts where it was provided on every journey, adding that pedestrians must walk along the side of the road facing oncoming traffic.

Some of the drivers and passengers who spoke to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) said lack of education, bad roads and high sales demanded from vehicle owners sometimes contribute to road accidents.