Road Accident

THE Ministry of Transport has begun consultations with stakeholders to find ways of abating the rampant loss of lives through road accidents in the country.
Agencies involved in the exercise include the Motor Transport and Traffic Unit (MTTU), the Fire Service, National Road Safety Commission (NRSC), the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) and the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU).
Others are the Road Transport Co-ordinating Council, Co-operative Transport Association, Intercity State Transport Company, Metro Mass Transit and representatives of the media.
Addressing a forum on the issue in Accra last Tuesday, the Minister of Transport, Mr Mike Hammah, disclosed that over 90 people had been killed during the week of February 14 to February 20 this year alone.
The accidents, which he described as avoidable, happened on the Atimpoku-Juapong-Aboasa road, the Tamale to Bolgatanga road, and the Kintampo to Tamale road.
As a swift and decisive action to curb the menace, he said his ministry in collaboration with the NRSC conducted an investigation on the factors which contributed to the recent accidents.
He said the investigations revealed that the main causes of the accidents were fatigue, carelessness, poor visibility and speeding.
“As the Minister of Transport, I cannot sit down for this needless road traffic crashes to go on,” he said.
Mr Hammah recommended some directives and called on the NRSC and the other road safety agencies present at the meeting to ensure strict compliance with those directives.
He said all commercial transport operators and haulage companies should introduce log books in their vehicles to monitor the number of hours their drivers drive in a day.
Commercial vehicle drivers, he said, should indicate in their log books when they start a journey, the total number of hours spent, and the kilometres driven.
He said road traffic regulations required that drivers took a mandatory 30 minutes rest after four hours of continuous driving and stop driving after a maximum of eight hours.
He noted that the log books would help drivers to make these calculations accurately in order to prevent fatigue driving, which he said was one of the major factors that contributed to the disturbing statistics on road accidents.
Some medium and long-term interventions to address road safety issues that the minister stated include the introduction of speed cameras on some major highways, installation of speed limits in commercial vehicles, and instant towing of disabled vehicles off roads.
The NRSC and the other road safety stakeholders pledged their support and commitment for the effective implementation of the minister’s directives to curb road accidents.
Later in an interview, the Commander of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU), Mr Daniel Avorga, attributed the recent upsurge in vehicle accidents in the country to negative attitudes and ignorance on the part of drivers.
He said for instance, the attitudes of drivers on the roads and ignorance of road traffic laws were some of the factors responsible for the accidents.
Commander Avorga expressed concern about the rate at which accidents were occurring recently, adding that the police would continue to enforce the road traffic regulation to ensure sanity on the roads.