I commend your recent announcement on the strict enforcement of weight limitations for heavy-duty trucks across the country.
This bold step, taken in consultation with key stakeholders, is a clear demonstration of your commitment to protecting Ghana’s road infrastructure under initiatives such as the dualisation of the Takoradi–Cape Coast highway.
For many years, overloaded trucks have caused rapid deterioration of our roads, placing a heavy financial burden on the state.
Your resolve to strengthen weighbridge operations, prevent equipment tampering and ensure compliance is highly commendable and welcomed by patriotic citizens.
However, while safeguarding infrastructure is essential, I remind you that this issue goes beyond roads—it involves human lives.
Overloaded and poorly maintained trucks are not only damaging highways — they claim lives.
In many instances, unsecured goods, especially from cargo and timber trucks, have fallen onto roads, causing avoidable accidents and fatalities.
Trucks transporting logs from various regions often operate with weak braking systems, unsecured loads and worn-out tyres, posing constant dangers to other motorists and pedestrians.
A heartbreaking example of this danger occurred on Friday, June 6, at Tanokrom in Takoradi, where a tragic accident claimed the life of Mr Isaac Bonaray, popularly known as Ike Bonaray, the morning show host of Enchi-based Max FM.
A timber truck loaded with lumber, reportedly faulty and reversing uncontrollably, crashed into a passenger trotro.
In an attempt to escape, Mr Bonaray was run over and killed.
He had married only a week earlier and had just moved into his new home with his wife and their two-month-old baby.
He was not only a beloved media personality but also Chairman of the Aowin Municipal Football Association and a member of the Western Regional Football Association’s Executive Council.
His death is a painful reminder of the human cost of weak enforcement, mechanical failure and unsafe transport practices.
Beyond this, I wish to draw your attention to another critical yet often overlooked issue—the fatigue and welfare of truck drivers.
Many of these drivers spend long hours on the road without rest due to pressure from transport companies and tight delivery schedules.
Without designated rest stops, sleep areas or proper regulations on driving hours, fatigue becomes a silent but deadly contributor to road accidents.
Driver exhaustion slows reaction time, increases mistakes and endangers the lives of both passengers and pedestrians.
Your Excellency, as you lead the nation toward infrastructural progress and economic transformation, I respectfully appeal that, alongside axle-weight enforcement, the government prioritise regular inspection and certification of heavy-duty vehicles, strict safety regulations for securing cargo and timber loads, proper enforcement by DVLA and MTTD and the introduction of driver fatigue management systems in partnership with transport unions and logistics companies.
These measures will ensure that our roads are not only preserved but also safe for every Ghanaian.
Your commitment to projects such as the Western Regional Hospital and the Takoradi–Cape Coast Road gives the nation hope.
By pairing development with safety and accountability, your leadership can save lives, protect investments and build a more secure future for all.
I trust that these concerns will be given thoughtful consideration.
Kobina Ofosu Nketia,
Health, safety and environmental advisor,
E-mail: opokuagyemang533@gmail.com
