Skip to main content

OccupyGhana proposes 12-step plan to tackle road carnage

Pressure group, OccupyGhana have outlined 12 measures it believes must be undertaken to addressing the increasing spate of road carnage in the country.

In a statement the group said the situation can be attributed to the poor nature of the country’s roads, lack of enforcement of traffic laws among other reasons.

“Most of our roads are in an abominable state. This is the result of decades of neglect by successive governments. Added to this neglect is indiscipline on the part of some drivers and the profound lack of enforcement of traffic laws by those in charge,” it noted.

The two incidents have brought to the fore again, concerns about the safety of Ghana’s roads especially intercity highways, some of which are notorious for fatal crashes.

Many analysts have proposed various measures to address the menace including ensuring that all commercial buses have speed limiters fitted on them.

OccupyGhana as part of its proposals believe that the buses should be fitted to ensure that the vehicles do not drive beyond 80km per hour.

Below is the full statement;

While commiserating with families who lost their loved ones through various road crashes especially the two major ones recorded two weeks ago that killed over 70 people on the Kintampo – Techiman highway and the Accra – Cape Coast highway.

This is three years after 70 passengers died in a Metro Mass Transit bus crash on this same highway near Kintampo. Until date, no report has been sighted on the matter, and no action taken against the bus company for recklessness.

The statistics on road fatalities in Ghana paint a rather grim picture. Over 46,000 people have been reportedly killed in road traffic accidents since 1991. According to the National Road Safety Commission, six people die daily on Ghana’s roads.

The WHO estimated that about 7000 people died through traffic accidents in 2016. Reportedly, Ghana loses about $230 million annually due to traffic accidents.”

The majority of victims are occupants of motor vehicles even though pedestrians, especially children, are not spared either. Recently, with the increasing commercialization of motorcycles as a means of transport – okada – the number of deaths from motor-cycles are also on the increase. The first two months of 2019 has already seen 411 fatalities from motorcycles.
Road accidents: Dual carriageway roads needed - Drivers advocate
Volume 100%


Certain roads and highways seem to be especially prone to accidents – the Accra-Kumasi highway, Accra-Aflao-Togo border road, the Accra- Cape Coast -Takoradi road and the Kumasi –Techiman-Kintampo-Tamale highway. In the Greater-Accra Region, the Accra-Tema motorway and the George-Bush Highway are hotspots of injuries and deaths.

What makes the situation even *more dire* are the absence of an effective emergency response system to deal with these accidents, the lack of ambulances and helicopters to transport and well-equipped trauma centers to care for the injured.

The approach to fixing this national ill should be multi-modal and be led by the government and its respective agencies. Thus we acknowledge the fact that the President showed leadership on this issue when he established an inter-ministerial committee last year to look into the increasing cases of road fatalities in the country.

The three-man committee identified indiscipline on our roads as the major contributory factor to the increasing incidents of traffic crashes. This is evident in disrespect for speed limits, overtaking, driving under influence of alcohol and drugs, long driving periods, disregard for traffic regulations by motor riders including non-use of crash helmets among others.

With all these recommendations, OccupyGhana® is disappointed in the slow reaction of the Ministry of Transportation, the National Road Safety Commission and the Ghana Police Service in the implementation of laws from the Road Traffic Regulation (LI 2180). As mentioned earlier, disregard of traffic laws, especially of speed limits, is one of the major causes of deaths on our roads. We ask the respective agencies to step up their efforts to instil discipline on our roads. We also ask the government to publish the entire report of the task force.

Guided by the four technical E’s in road safety namely Engineering, Enforcement, Education and Emergencies, OccupyGhana wishes to make the following recommendations to improve safety and curb the increasing carnage on our roads.:

Road accidents: Drivers must be self disciplined - Transport Minister
Volume 100%


1. Enforce all the laws in the Road Traffic Regulation (LI 2180).

2. Commercial vehicles and heavy-duty vehicles must be fitted with speed limiters and tachographs with speed not exceeding 80km per hour.

3. Audits on privately owned transport businesses must be conducted to regulate their operations.

4. Commercial drivers must undergo yearly medical examinations before being permitted to drive any passenger bus. Certificates of fitness to drive a commercial vehicle must be issued by certified medical doctors from registered health facilities.

5. The Law restricting the use of motorbikes and tricycles for commercial purposes must be enforced, and tricycles should be banned from plying motorways and highways.

6. All trucks, buses and commercial vehicles must physically be tested at DVLA approved test stations.

7. The MTTD of the Ghana Police Service must arrest law enforcement personnel such us the GAF personnel, Fire, Immigration, Customs as well as other vehicles who flout the regulations by driving in the middle and the shoulders of the road without appropriate, legal sirens.

8. The revision of the laws on the use of DV and DP plates as most drivers of such unregistered vehicles are very recalcitrant traffic regulation offenders.

9. Tricycles and mopeds must not be allowed on high-speed arteries like the Accra-Tema Motorway.

10. The establishment of an emergency response system and trauma centres.

11. Improvement of our roads, road lights, and signs.

12. Intensify public awareness campaigns about road safety.

It has been said that the way people drive in any country correlates with the level of discipline or lack thereof in said country. The indiscipline on our roads may be a true indication of the indiscipline that plagues us. It is however not a topic for just discussion anymore. It is an issue costing lives and money and we as a nation need to stop and fix it.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Stop running commentary on our investigations - A-G warns EOCO

Attorney-General, Gloria Akuffo Ms Gloria Afua Akuffo, the Attorney-General has asked the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) to open itself to the public but to avoid running commentary on its investigations. According to her speaking in public about their investigations could only frustrates their efforts as well as give out too much information to criminals to change their mode of operations. “Criminals are always waiting to cover their tracks and therefore coming out to speak constantly about a matter, makes it easier for them to cover up and therefore frustrating the outcome of the investigations,” she stressed. She advised that the statutory body should avoid following rumours and suspicions so as not to not embarrass themselves. Ms Akuffo said this at EOCO’s maiden national stakeholders’ forum in Accra aimed at interacting with stakeholders and share information on cases investigated, prosecutions and convictions obtained as well as recoveries and confiscations made. ...

Ofori-Atta to present mid-year budget review Thursday

  The Minister of Finance, Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta, is expected to move for the adoption of the Mid-Year Review Budget Statement and Economic Policy of Government next week. The Mid-Year Budget, which is the Government’s supplementary estimate for the 2021 financial year, would be proposed to the House on Thursday, July 22, at the Parliament House, Accra. Mr. Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the Deputy Majority Leader, announced this on the floor of the House in Accra, on Friday, when he presented the  Business  Statement for the Ninth Week Ending Friday, July 23, 2021, of the current meeting of the Legislature. He said Tuesday, July 20, is a public holiday in respect of the Eid ul-Adha and would be observed as such. The Finance Minister would also answer a question on the cost of President Akufo-Addo’s official travels to France, Belgium, and South Africa in May, this year. He is expected to tell the House the cost of air travel of the President using chartered flight between 2013 an...

Open defecation will send many to hell - Top Man of God

Open Defecation(File Photo) The Royal Reign Chapel International has launched a campaign against open defecation. Founder and leader of the church, Reverend Fiifi Ankomah explaining the rationale behind the campaign said, the irresponsible acts by some individuals have cost the nation a lot hence the reason behind their campaign. According to him, he took the initiative to research the Bible to support his campaign and from what he gathered, open defecation is something evil and against the will of God. He said God who dwells among men does not do so when the people engage in open defecation. Quoting Deuteronomy 23:13-14 to buttress his point he said:    And you shall have a trowel with your tools, and when you sit down outside, you shall dig a hole with it and turn back and cover up your excrement.   14  Because  the  Lord  your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and to give up your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be ...