Registering drivers to make roads safer
On Monday, September 2, 2024, the Director-General of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), David Osafo Adonteng, in an exclusive interview with the Daily Graphic directed all those in the road transport and related services sector to register with the authority.
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The directive is in line with the National Road Safety Regulation 2022 (LI 2468), which requires the NRSA to keep a register of all institutions providing road transport and related services.
This regulation ensures the right identification of transport operators in the country by licensing them and better monitoring and supervising the sector.
Implementation of LI 2468 has begun in ernest with engagements between the NRSA and transport operators, to be fully enforced by March 31, 2025.
Under the new regime, floating drivers, those who do not associate with any union and operate solo, are required to either join a union or form a company to register with the NRSA for identification.
Drivers under associations, companies and unions, so identified, have stickers on their vehicles showing compliance with NRSA registration regulations.
According to the NRSA, the targeted road transport operators include commercial road transport operators (passengers and goods), ride hailing transport companies, transport departments of ministries, departments and agencies, transport departments and units of private companies, tyre service centres, garages/vehicle maintenance centres, road safety related not-for-profit organisations, road safety training and service providers, and road transport technology service providers.
So far, in its engagements, the NRSA has had responses from educational institutions and allied institutional transportation services that are not encouraging.
The Daily Graphic commends the NRSA for this work. However, if the registration is low, we challenge the NRSA to punish educational institutions and allied institutional transportation services that have not taken the opportunity to register, as their deadline was on March 31, 2024.
That would serve as an appropriate notice as the phase of getting commercial road transport operators to register is underway and ends next year.
For drivers that do not belong to any association, union or company, the Daily Graphic encourages them to take advantage of the dispensation before next year.
Indeed, the registration of transport operators is not disadvantageous to drivers.
Joining unions or associations to be registered ensures that the necessary support for drivers from NRSA and other such initiatives are deployed properly and seamlessly.
Additionally, there is strength in unity, and joining an association or union ensures that issues on road safety, from the point of view of drivers are advocated and taken into consideration in policy formulation.
We also encourage driver union executives and heads to encourage their peers to register.
The NRSA on August 27, 2024 issued a directive in the dailies and online. There, it spelt out, in detail, the process of going online to register. The website is https://transportghana.com.gh.
Additionally, the Daily Graphic advocates collaboration among the NRSA and other agencies such as the Driver Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) and the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service.
That will enhance compliance with these directives, particularly if the renewal of roadworthiness certificates is linked with checks of registration with the NRSA.
We encourage participation in this exercise to make our roads safe. The ball is now in the court of all drivers in the country. Let us all be united in this effort for our collective safety on roads.