By Naa Shormei Odonkor
Koforidua, May 18, GNA – Mr. Samuel Mensah, the Eastern Regional Director of the Department of Urban Roads, has advised drivers not to exceed a speed limit of 80 kilometres per hour (km/hr) on the N6.
He said the N6 which began from Tetteh Quarshie to Bunsu was designed with a speed limit of 100 km/hr, however, a speed limit of 80 km/hr was mounted to ensure the safety of road users.
Mr. Mensah was speaking at the Road Safety Week Lecture organized by the Eastern Regional Office of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) in collaboration with the Eastern Regional Coordinating Council in Koforidua.
The lecture was part of the 7th United Nations Global Road Safety Week Celebration which began on May 15 to May 21 and was on the theme; Rethink Mobility.
He said accidents were rare occurrences, but were always devastating when they occurred, therefore, road users must be vigilant on the road to be safe.
Mr Daniel Wuaku, the Eastern Regional Director of the NRSA, observed that most road crashes recorded in the region were on the N6 due to its connection to other regions.
He said among all the contributing factors of road crashes, head-on-collisions and run-in-to-hit-parked vehicles were the most dangerous and contributed to 18 percent of road crashes in the region.
He said education on road safety measures must be intensified, early warning protocols on disabled vehicles and registration of commercial road transportation must be enforced to minimize road crashes in the region.
Ms Abigail Dabor, the Eastern Regional Planning Manager of NRSA, said the region in the first quarter of 2023 recorded 342 Road crashes, 736 injuries and 103 deaths lower than last year.
“This may look good against last year’s 1st quarter performance of 452 crashes, 792 injuries and 136 deaths. But the issue remains that one more preventable death or injury is one too many to bear,” she said.
He said rethinking mobility focused on sustainable transportation, especially, the need to shift to walking, cycling and the use of public transport.
Again, rethinking mobility, Dr Winfred Ofosu said it would contribute greatly to relieving the stress on the health sector as fewer cases of road crashes would be referred to the health centres.
He said the region should pay attention to emergency care such as pre-hospital care given to victims of road crashes on the scene of the accident before their transfer to the hospitals.
Again, more emergency beds must be provided for the health facilities to strengthen emergency care and equip the public who were usually the first to appear at accident scenes with first aid skills.
According to him, the together with adequate emergency referral transport would help to minimize injuries and deaths as a result of road scenes in the region.
GN