By Yussif Ibrahim
Kumasi, March 11, GNA – As part of efforts to reduce fatalities on the highways, especially, during the night, the Ashanti Regional Office of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), has engaged long-distance drivers on the need to observe road safety regulations.
The exercise, which targeted drivers and managers of the State Transport Company (STC), Metro Mass Transit (MMT) and other transport unions, formed part of activities lined up by the NRSA to reduce road crashes on major highways.
Also, on hand to educate the drivers on their responsibilities were officials from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) and the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service.
Roads in the Ashanti region, according to the NRSA, are the deadliest in the country, accounting for 22.9 per cent fatalities followed by the Greater Accra region with 16.2 per cent fatalities.
It is against this background that the Regional Office of the Authority has intensified engagements with relevant stakeholders to bring down the needless killing of Ghanaians on the roads, largely due to the recklessness of drivers.
Participants were exposed to safety tips on the road as well as statistics of fatalities as a way of reminding them of the role they could play in reducing road crashes.
Mr. Kwasi Agyenim Boateng, the Ashanti Regional Head of NRSA, said available data showed that most fatal accidents on the highways happened at night and at dawn, hence the need to target long-distance drivers who often drove during those periods.
“In line with this, we have been deploying safety officers to lorry terminals to conduct pre-trip inspections to ensure both drivers and vehicles are in good conditions to embark on the journey,” he disclosed.
He said the Authority was already working with key stakeholders to promptly move broken-down vehicles from the roads as raised by the participants as one of the major causes of accidents the night.
According to the Regional Head, the Authority was basically targeting road user risk groups which include, passengers, pedestrians and motor riders, as part of a broader strategy to tackle the menace.
Mr. Amos Abakah, Regional Manager of DVLA, said the focus of his outfit was to check the health of vehicles as well as the licenses of drivers to ensure they were qualified to drive.
He said the key role of the DVLA in reducing accidents in the night was the enforcement of retro-reflective tapes on vehicles to alert other road users of their presence even when the vehicle was not in motion.
GNA