Eighty-four people died through 385 recorded road accidents in the Central Region between January and May, the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) has said.
The accidents, which involved 597 vehicles, left 678 people injured.
[contextly_sidebar id=”bmPKDnbj4G5KtZccfC5dG6GG5iYPlXmn”]Ms Linda Annan, Acting Central Regional Manager of the NRSC disclosed this when the Commission embarked on a road safety education campaign at the Tantre lorry station to educate drivers on the need to be good road users.
It formed part of a 16-day road safety and health screening campaign being undertaken by the Grace Multi-Medianet Service, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) in collaboration with the NRSC and the Ghana Police Service on the theme “Look out for each other on the Road to Save Lives”.
Ms Annan said in the same period in 2017, 451 recorded road crashes killed 104 people and injured 726 others with 160 pedestrian knockdowns in the region.
According to her, though the figures had reduced, it was still not encouraging as Ghana looks to achieve zero tolerance for road accidents and called on all stakeholders to play their respective roles to make that dream a reality.
Ms Annan noted that human error continued to be the major contributory factor to road crashes and advised motorists to be extra careful and look out for other road users on the roads.
She said the NRSC would continue to collaborate with all stakeholders to the point where there would be no accidents on the road.
Inspector Nicholas Oppong Twumasi, Regional Public Relations Officer of the MTTD urged leaders of various lorry stations to ensure that all drivers who operate from their stations have genuine driving licenses.
He lamented how some politicians and other high profile personalities in the society interfere in the work of the Police, saying it affects the effective implementation of the law.
“We have always had case of some politicians, pastors, assembly members and other personalities come in to plead on behalf of offenders when we want to allow the law to work. This has contributed to the indiscipline that we see on our roads” he added.
Mr Richard Agyeman, Regional Secretary of the NRSC advised motorists to do proper maintenance and always look out for faults before moving their vehicles.
He also advised them to also desist from overtaking, over speeding, fatigue driving among others to prevent road accidents.
In January , the NRSC revealed that 336 people lost their lives in road accidents in the first two months of 2018.
The Commission also stated that a total of 2,095 road crashes were recorded in January and February alone, representing a significant rise from the same period in 2017.
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Source: GNA
