Drivers refusing to wear seat belts

Koforidua, June 20, GNA- The campaign for wearing of seat belts when driving to save lives in times of accidents seems to be dying down.

A road survey conducted by GNA in the New Juaben municipality showed that most drivers had relaxed in the use of wearing seat belts since the police checks on that had also gone down.

Most of the drivers plying Koforidua-Accra, Koforidua-Kumasi, Koforidua-Somanya, Koforidua-Akuapem and the municipality at the time of the survey were not wearing their seats belts. Those plying within the municipality claimed that since they were not travelling far they did not see the need in wearing seat belts whiles those from long distance said they put on the belts when on their journey but removed them when they got to town. However in both cases, one thing was obvious that the wearing of seat belts had not caught up with commercial drivers as it should be and the earlier the MTTU re-introduced the checks on the road the better. On the hand, during the same road survey, most private vehicles were seen with their seat belts on even on a town ride indicating that the essence of seat belt was well understood by them than the commercial drivers.

Superintendent Sarfo Peprah, Eastern Regional Commander of the MTTU, in an interview told the GNA that it was unfortunate that drivers seemed to be ignoring the wearing of seat belts to protect their own lives. He attributed the phenomenon to behavioural change that was difficult for Ghanaians and called on drivers to value their own safety by putting on the belt. Superintendent Peprah mentioned myths such as getting trapped in case of accident when in seat belt as baseless and explained that seat belts rather acts as brakes for humans in moving vehicles and prevent them from hitting their bodies, especially their heads at objects in the event of an accident.

He said that helped to preserve occupants of cars from injury or death and therefore called on drivers not to see wearing of seat belts as worrisome.