295 killed from road crashes in Ashanti - MTTD

Statistics from the Ashanti Regional Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service indicate that 295 people have been killed in road crashes between January and July this year from 1,826 accidents, one of the highest in the country.

The figure shows that averagely 49 people have perished every month and two each day with 11 serious injuries daily during the period.

The statistics also indicate that the region records 304 cases of accidents every month and 10 daily.

Nationally, 2,000 deaths are recorded yearly with more than 10,000 households losing their relations while some are left with permanent disabilities.

Source

The Ashanti Regional Police MTTD Commander, Superintendent Mr Emmanuel Adu Boahene and the Head of Regulations, Inspections and Compliance of the National Road Safety Authority, Mr Kwame Kondua Atuahene, shared the worrying statistics in Kumasi at the launch of the Ashanti Regional branch of the Association of Vulcanisers Ghana (AVG).

The association aims at streamlining the activities of all vulcanisers and ensuring that they operate within an acceptable framework and also ensure that all lorry tyres are roadworthy.

The national association was established in 2011 and it comprises vulcanisers from across the country whose basic aim is to help curb the carnage on the country’s roads.

It is made up of about 1,500 members and has branches at Mallam Junction in Accra, Kasoa, Tema, Sunyani and Bolgatanga.

The AVG aims to promote tyre safety through training and education and enhance professionalism.

The regional launch was on the theme: "The role of the vulcaniser in the 21st century.”

Professional vulcanisers

Mr Atuahene indicated that substandard tyres contributed to about 30 per cent of all road accidents in the country and, therefore, the need to have professionals to man such businesses was very crucial.

He said according to the records, eight out of 10 road users were fully educated on the dos and don'ts of road accidents yet, indiscipline and institutional irresponsibility were contributing to the rise in road crashes.

Mr Atuahene said the government was working hard through its stakeholders to reduce the crashes. As part of the measures, education on road accidents was being extended to the second cycle institutions and the universities, he said.

For his part, Superintendent Boahene said beyond the enforcement of the law, the MTTD was also engaging institutions, including churches and mosques, to help reduce fatalities on the roads.

He said the police only cracked the whip when road users failed to adhere to the rules after the sensitisation process.

Bill

The Ashanti Regional Chairman of AVG, Mr Robert Ayertey, said a bill to regularise the activities of vulcanisers was before Parliament and expressed the hope that it would be passed this year for it to be implemented in 2022.

He said plans were afoot to assist members to acquire internationally recognised equipment on credit basis for members to move away from operating manually to provide the right kind of services and enhance safety.

Mr Ayertey said the pumping of lorry tyres must include the manufacturer’s recommendation, the weight and expected load that a vehicle was to carry and not necessarily a directive from a driver on how a tyre should be inflated.

In that regard, the association was working with the National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI) to offer training and support to achieve the desired results, Mr Ayertey said.

"The NVTI is not for school dropouts or failures but rather to offer technical support and build the country's manpower to develop the country," he said.