Saved!: Seatbelt to the rescue

Thursday, August 20, 2020 marks five years of the horrendous presidential press corps accident, and I can testify to how wearing a seatbelt has proven to be the one of the most effective ways of preventing death and serious injuries in motor vehicle accidents.

That accident brings back dark memories. On that fateful day, I left home in Tema very early to the Flagstaff House (Jubilee House) to join other colleagues for an EP Church programme in Ho, of which former President John Dramani Mahama was the Special Guest.

I have always loved going to Ho, because I have a special joint there, where I go for my favourite akple with okro soup.

So you can imagine how I was itching to reach Ho early.

Vehicles

The vehicle that conveyed us to Ho - a GMC Savanna minibus - was not part of the presidential pool.

Before we left Ho on the return journey, I fastened my seatbelt in the bus.

The driver, who could be in his early 50s at the time, was driving at a high speed when the vehicle burst a rear tyre around the Doryumu Junction in the Shai Hills area.

The car somersaulted several times and landed in a swampy area and the rest of the story was a horrifying spectacle of enormous proportion.

Ghanaian Times’s reporter, Samuel Nuamah, died on the spot and the rest of us sustained varying degrees of injuries, some very serious.

As the car somersaulted several times, it wanted to throw me out of my seat, but the seatbelt kept pulling me into my seat.

As a Christian, I believe that divine intervention saved me from the horrific accident, but I also have the conviction that the seatbelt played a major role.

Low usage

In spite of the important role seatbelt plays as a safety device, its usage in Ghana has not been pronounced.

In fact, the World Health Organisation (WHO) lists Ghana as one of the 105 countries with seatbelt laws, but the country has no data on the applicability of the laws.

Article 683 Section 13 (a) and (b) of the Road Traffic Act states: “A person of age 18 years or above who drives a motor vehicle on road or sit on the front or rear seat of a motor vehicle being driven on a road without wearing seatbelt commits an offence liable on a summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 100 penalty points or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 month or both”.

A critical examination of commercial and even private vehicles plying the roads will testify to the fact that the country has not been serious with the wearing of seatbelts.

Sometimes, the police are blameable because they look unconcerned as the law is trampled upon with impunity.

Accra situation

In Accra, the police have been a bit stricter. At least, many drivers wear the seatbelt in the national capital because the police will not let them have their way.

The Road Safety Report (2016-2018) of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly indicated that seatbelt use had been significantly higher among drivers compared to passengers. “Overall, seatbelt use has ranged between 45 per cent recorded in March-April of 2017 to 62 per cent recorded in July-August of 2018,” the report said.

The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) also recognises the fact that there are constraints on passenger seatbelt use in public transport vehicles in Accra with trotros as a major example.

In 2004, trotro drivers in the national capital demonstrated against moves by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) to enforce the law demanding that seatbelts are fixed for all occupants of vehicles plying the country. The DVLA eventually chickened out.

It is important for the DVLA to ensure that it registers vehicles after seatbelts for drivers and passengers are certified.

As a country, we have been too lousy in implementing our laws, and until we move away from the status quo, we will continue to play to the gallery.