708 persons died in road crashes between January and April

This year’s West Africa Road Safety Organisation (WARSO) Day and the United Nations (UN) Road Safety Week has been marked in Accra, with a call on stakeholders to intensify public education to reduce speeding on the roads.

According to the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC), speeding contributes to 60 per cent of road accidents in the country.

Between January and April 30, this year, the NRSC recorded 4,049 crashes, involving 6,468 vehicles that resulted in 708 deaths as a result of speeding on the roads.

The number of people who were injured following the accidents were 3,983, while 1,199 pedestrians were knocked down. A total of 1,289 motorcycle accidents were also recorded as a result of speeding on the roads.

WARSO Day

At a ceremony to commemorate the day, the Director of Planning and Programmes of the NRSC, Mr David Osarfo Adonteng, said as a result of the numerous accidents, drivers had been cautioned not to drive at more than 100 kilometres (km) per hour on a motorway, 90km on highways, 50km in towns and 30km around schools, hospitals, as well as other social centres, to reduce the cases of accidents in the country.

The WARSO Day was inaugurated on May 8, 2008 under the auspices of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to promote and reinforce road safety activities and practices in the West Africa states, through effective management of road safety and traffic matters to reduce road traffic crashes drastically.

The WARSO is made up of 15-member countries, including Ghana, Togo, Benin, Mali, Nigeria, Guinea Bissau and four non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

The programme, dubbed “Save Lives: Slow Down”, brought together stakeholders, including representatives of the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Police Service, Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA).

Mrs May Obiri -Yeboah (right), CEO, National Road Safety Commission, addressing the media and some stakeholders in the road safety sector during the launch of campaign on "speed" in Accra. Picture: GABRIEL AHIABOR

Public education

Mr Adonteng said the NRSC, for its part, would intensify its public education and advocacy programmes, monitoring and evaluation, to check road users in order to reduce speeding.

“We have to step up our activities, especially measures that will minimise speed on our roads by sensitising drivers and road users,” he urged.

He outlined some measures that would be implemented to reduce road accidents, adding that the NSRC would introduce a standard vehicle tyre from June this year and commence the towing of faulty vehicles on the roads from July.

Mr Adonteng further called on the MTTD to ensure that drivers complied with traffic regulations, adding that the MTTD should use advance Information and Communications Technology (ICT), including speed cameras, as well as spot fines, to track offenders.

Shared responsibility

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NRSC, Mrs May Obiri-Yeboah, said the campaign was a shared responsibility and urged passengers to be alert and speak up against dangerous driving to save their lives.

 She said the exercise comprised road safety education, photo exhibitions and passenger empowerment campaigns, among other interventions. 

“The commission will observe the week from May 8 to 14 throughout the country but with emphasis on the Accra-Winneba-Mankessim-Cape Coast road,” she said.