Speak up against reckless driving — Passengers urged
The National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) has launched its 2016 Road Safety Campaign, with a charge on pedestrians and passengers to speak up against reckless driving by motorists.
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Dubbed: “Pedestrian and Passenger Safety”, the campaign appeals to passengers and pedestrians not to allow drivers to endanger their lives and those of other road users.
As part of the year-long campaign, officials of the NRSC will go out to passengers and pedestrians at the lorry parks, in schools and religious institutions to sensitise them to road safety.
The commission will also use both traditional and social media channels to sensitise the public to road safety.
Teams made up of NRSC and the National Service Traffic Management personnel will be deployed to toll booths, lorry terminals and strategic locations on the highways to educate motorists, pedestrians and passengers during the period.
The Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) will back the programme with a vigorous enforcement of road traffic regulations nationwide.
The NRSC will also engage policy makers on the need to improve road infrastructure with a better appreciation of the pedestrian, passenger and speed problem.
All-year relevance
Speaking at the ceremony to launch the campaign in Accra last Tuesday, the Executive Director of the NRSC, Mrs May Obiri-Yeboah, discounted claims by sections of the public that the commission was only relevant during Easter and Christmas festivities.
“On the contrary, we run all-year programmes and campaigns for best road safety practices, except that we strategise to increase our visibility during these periods,” she said.
She said with Easter in sight and being aware of the practices of road users during the period, it was important to reflect and focus on the issues that contributed to crashes affecting revellers during the festivities.
Mrs Obiri-Yeboah said the commission had, in the past, organised data-led campaigns on speeding, fatigue driving, drink driving, helmet use, passenger empowerment, pedestrian safety, among other issues, and that at present nearly 58 per cent of road users confirmed awareness of one campaign or another and their impact on them.
She said, however, that while the NRSC continued to work hard in its outreach efforts, it needed the support of the media and other stakeholders to force a reduction in the number of road traffic crashes and their resultant impact on society.
Speed kills
On statistics, she said pedestrian and passenger deaths which accounted for nearly 65 per cent of all road traffic casualties were mostly speed related.
While conceding that the absence of pedestrian walkways and jay-walking undermined pedestrian safety, Mrs Obiri-Yeboah said the speed levels of motorists were a major contributory factor to the severity of injuries and fatalities.
However, she said the commission, in an effort to reduce pedestrian deaths, had, in partnership with De United Food Industries (Ghana) Limited, producers of Indomie Instant Noodles, introduced 200 crossing aids also known as lollipop stands, to help especially children cross the road.
She urged other organisations to emulate the gesture and join in the fight against indiscipline on the roads.
Pedestrian safety and road situation
Giving a presentation on pedestrian safety and the road situation in Ghana, Ing David Osafo Adonteng, the Director of Planning and Programmes at the NRSC, said during the Easter festivities in 2015, 30 out of 2,121 pedestrians who died as a result of road accidents were hit and killed by vehicles moving at very high speed as the victims crossed the streets.
Additionally, he said, speeding contributed to over 60 per cent of fatal crashes in the country, while up to 98 per cent of motorists passed speed limit signs.
He said while travel speed on highways ranged from 110 to 180 kilometres per hour (kph), between 120 and 140 kph was very common on the roads.
He, therefore, urged the public and the media in particular to join in the campaign against indiscipline on the roads.
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