The National Road Safety Authority in the Upper West Region has extended the road safety campaign to cargo drivers and members of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) in the Upper West Region.
The road safety sensitization for the cargo drivers and members of the GPRTU was to help ensure adherence to road safety regulations as part of measures to help reduce the rate of accidents in the region.
Mr Obed Gyammera Antwi, the Upper West Planning Manager of the NRSA, speaking at the sensitisation programme with the cargo drivers, indicated that it had been an annual activity of the NRSA to sensitise road users on road safety measures, especially during the Christmas season.
According to data from the NRSA, a total of 72 road crushes with 32 deaths and 123 injuries had been recorded in the Upper West Region from January to September 2022.
The NRSA and its partners had early on met with the members of the cambuu (tricycle) riders association, transport operators, and motorbike sellers to sensitise them on road safety.
They had also engaged the general public with the “stay alive” campaign through radio stations, churches, and mosques among others.
Mr Antwi said one major cause of road accidents among the cargo drivers was overloading and urged them to always follow the load limit of their vehicles to help prevent possible accidents and to save their lives and those of other road users.
Some other irregularities engaged in by the cargo drivers, according to Mr Antwi, were the use of unapproved lamps and fatigue while driving among others.
“One thing that we have observed among the drivers is that they use these unapproved lamps and at night if you are facing them it is very terrible. You cannot see and if you don’t take care you can veer off the road.
Some also take hard drugs and energy drinks to enable them stay awake. When you do that, yes, your eyes will be wide opened but your brain will be asleep”, he explained.
On his part, Mr Kwame Owusu A., the Upper West Regional Head of the NRSA, noted that the campaign would continue unabated even after the festive season and warned against the flouting of the road safety regulations.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Mr Paul Boabeng Donkor, the Upper West Regional Commander, Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD, said any driver who would be apprehended flouting any of the road safety regulations would be made to face the full rigour of the law.
Mr Jonas Kansaabayel, an Ophthalmic Nurse with the Red Cross Society in Wa, said aside from the well-known causes of road accidents such as overspeeding, drunk driving, and stress among others, the issue of poor vision was a major cause of road accidents.
He, therefore, encouraged the drivers to seek regular eye screening, at least, once every year to help prevent road accidents resulting from poor vision.
The drivers were also encouraged to sign unto the vehicle towing services introduced by the government to help clear the road of broken-down vehicles which also led to road accidents.
Representatives of the National Insurance Commission and Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority were also present to educate the drivers on the need for them to insure their vehicles and acquire the necessary registration and license before hitting the road.
Also present at the sensitisation was the Ghana National Ambulance Services to educate them on its operational mandate as well as the Narcotics Control Commission to educate them on the dangers of resorting to hard drugs and energy drinks to enable them drive long journeys.
Alhaji Nuhu Mahama, the Upper West Regional Industrial Relations Officer of the GPRTU, thanked the NRSA and its partners for the sensitization and urged the drivers to take messages very seriously to help reduce the menace of road accidents.
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