By Dennis Peprah
Sunyani, Dec. 21, GNA – The Bono Regional Office of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) has scaled up a coordinated joint road safety stakeholders’ education campaign to advise drivers to adhere to road traffic regulations during the Christmas season.
In this regard, the Authority has collaborated with other road agencies and transport unions, including the Ghana Highways Authority, Police Motto Traffic and Transport Department and the Ghana National Fire Service and intensified road safety education campaigns in the region.
Other stakeholders included the National Insurance Commission, the Department of Urban Roads, and the National Ambulance Service as well as the Ghana Private Road Transport Union, Progressive Transport Union Association, Cargo Drivers Association and Tipper Truck Drivers.
Since Monday, December 18, 2023, representatives of the stakeholders and the authority have been visiting and sensitizing commercial drivers and passengers on road traffic regulations and safety at major lorry stations and bus terminals in the region.
Some of the major lorry stations visited so far included the Nana Bosoma Central market, Atronie station, O Ampofo Transport Terminal as well as the Sunyani main lorry station in the Sunyani Municipality.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on the sidelines of the education campaigns, Madam Abigail Atinpoka, the Bono Regional Head of the NRSA, noted “Christmas and New Year is notorious for road traffic crashes.”
She said the education campaign had prioritized and mostly centred on speeding, one of the major causes of crashes in the country.
“This problem of increased travel speed is particularly alarming, as studies have revealed that over 90 per cent of drivers exceed speed limits right after crossing congested areas and at least 60 per cent on rural highways,” she said.
The consequences of speeding are dire, responsible for 60 per cent of pedestrian fatalities and contributing to a significant percentage of overall road fatalities.
“Motorists speed excessively during the Christmas and New Year festive season due to the increase in travel and other economic activities that come along with the season,” she said.
Madam Atinpoka indicated statistics showed speeding was associated with nearly 40 per cent of fatalities and over 32 per cent of injuries, saying the analysis underscored the urgency of addressing the issue through targeted interventions to reduce crashes, fatalities and injuries.
She expressed appreciation to the stakeholders for their support and expressed the hope that the commercial drivers would adhere to traffic regulations to help reduce the crashes in the season.
GNA