Let’s intensify road safety campaigns — Rev. Antwi-Tumfuor
The Pastor in charge of the Tema West Parish of the E.P. Church, Ghana, Rev. Emmanuel Antwi-Tumfuor, has called for an increase in road safety campaigns at the various lorry stations in the country.
That, he said, would ensure that drivers appreciated the critical role expected of them in changing the negative narrative of Ghana recording avoidable accidents and needless deaths.
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“I wish to commend our road safety agencies like the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), the police, and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) as well as driver unions and civil society groups for their various roles aimed at ensuring sanity on our roads.
“I wish to also call on the DVLA to design the driving licence in such a way that it will attract severe penalty points for reckless driving with the maximum penalty points leading to suspension or revoking of the licence in extreme cases,” Rev. Antwi-Tumfuor said in his 31st Watch Night sermon at the Kekeli Congregation in Tema Community 11.
Strange
He said it was strange that drivers who caused fatal accidents found their way to drive other cars as if nothing had happened at all or had done nothing wrong because they still had access to their licence.
But, he said if the drivers got to know that their action could result in the revocation of their licences, they would be extra cautious on the roads.
“Our prayer is that we should get to a stage where the road safety campaigns will let the nation record minimal or no deaths through road crashes.
I also wish to suggest to the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) to design special stickers that will indicate when a vehicle sets off, so that when it arrives at its destination, one can check at the final destination if there was speeding, because there is a standard time one should cover a certain mileage.
It can also help deal with floating drivers as they will be compelled to load from designated points in order to get such stickers, which the police can use to check their speed in addition to the use of the speed gun by the police,” he said.
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Safety protocols
Rev. Antwi-Tumfuor said just as the country was prioritising the safety protocol against COVID-19, it should do the same in the road safety sector to stop the deaths on the road.
“With effective collaboration among the drivers, the law enforcement and regulatory agencies, and everyone playing their parts, the story on our road should change from what I will unfortunately refer to as “slaughter house” to one that gives assurance to the travelling public that they are always safe on the road,” he pointed out.
He said although the carelessness of drivers wanting to speed and do unnecessary overtaking also resulted in fatalities on the roads, drivers must also be advised to undergo routine medical check-ups anytime they visited the DVLA offices to renew their licences and other road safety documents such as roadworthy certificates.
Renew
“I wish to recommend that before the authorities renew such documents, competent medical officers should have certified the health status of the drivers before licences are issued, even if it is after every six years that they have to renew or replace their licences. It will help a great deal in preventing the loss of precious lives and property.
“I therefore urge the authorities to look at the health status of drivers, especially, the sight and anything similar to epilepsy, to help avert road accidents. People should not hide their health status and sit behind the steering wheels, knowing very well that if their condition strikes, it can cause fatalities,” he said, among other things.