By Eric Appah Marfo
Accra, April 14, GNA — The National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) has cautioned road users, particularly drivers, against distracted driving before, during and after the Easter festivities.
Mr Felix Owusu, Planning Manager at the NRSA’s Greater Accra Regional Office, revealed that distracted driving remained one of the leading causes of road crashes, hence the need to avoid it.
The Planning Manager gave the advice on Monday during an in-traffic road safety education at the 37 Intersection and Lorry Station in Accra.
Distracted driving occurs when a driver’s attention shifts from the road to other activities. This includes texting, answering calls, chatting with passengers, or focusing on external distractions while in motion.
The campaign dubbed: “Know Your Road Signs,” was organised by the NRSA Greater Accra Regional Office, together with the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD).
The NRSA team engaged drivers and commuters through the display of printed versions of road signs and line markings for identification and education.
They also checked vehicles for unapproved lamps, in line with Regulation 65 of the Road Traffic Regulations.
Mr Owusu expressed worry over the low literacy on road safety signs and markings amongst road users.
“From our observations, only about 20 per cent of the people could correctly identify the signs. That’s worrying. This is not our first time; we carry out similar exercises at terminals, on TV, in churches, and in schools to promote road sign literacy.”
“We have realised many road users, including drivers, do not understand or recognise most of the road signs. These signs are important—they communicate vital instructions. Every road user should be able to interpret them correctly to avoid needless crashes,” he said.
Mr Owusu said the Authority had intensified education, inspections and enforcement as part of activities lined up for the Easter season to reduce crashes on highways.
“We started last week with visits to some terminals whose vehicles travel from Accra to other regions. We conduct pre-trip inspections to assess the roadworthiness of vehicles, check service quality, and verify if drivers are qualified to operate the vehicles they use,” he said.
He said enforcement had also been strengthened, with teams positioned at vantage points along highways to ensure compliance with road traffic regulations during the festivities—particularly regarding speed, wrongful overtaking, alcohol-impaired driving and overloading.
Mr Owusu said the Authority had, in recent years, undertaken a nationwide campaign to remove unauthorised lamps from vehicles.
He expressed concern about the tampering of road signs by individuals who pasted posters, altered positions, or removed them to create space for structures and called on local assemblies to scrutinise permit requests to prevent obstruction of traffic signs.
The Planning Manager highlighted the use of logbooks for vehicles operating inter-state
journeys, travelling more than 500 kilometers or over eight hours.
“Logbooks help track driver identity, registration number, point of departure, destination, time of departure, and expected time of arrival,” he explained.
He said road safety was a shared duty, urging all categories of road users, including passengers and pedestrians, to play active roles.
“Passengers should speak up when drivers engage in dangerous behaviours, and pedestrians must be cautious when using roads. Statistics show that a significant number of road fatalities involve pedestrians.”
Drivers who participated in the sensitisation exercise thanked the NRSA for the education, while others expressed concerns about the lack of adequate road signs and billboards obstructing visibility of existing ones.
GNA
SOF