Use of Logbook to curb accidents began

Accra, April 6, GNA - The use of a Logbook introduced by the Transport Ministry as a measure to curb road accidents took off on Monday at most stations across the country.

The measure, apart from demanding that drivers take a rest after every four hours of continuous driving, also ensures that executives of transport unions supervise drivers to indicate on the Logbook the time and place of departure when leaving the stations, as well as the arrival time when they arrived at their destinations. Upon reaching their destinations, transport union executives will cross check the times on the Logbook to ascertain whether or not the drivers did not exceed the speed limit.

The measure is expected to minimize human related factors such as excessive speeding and driving under stressful conditions which are some of the major causes of accidents on the country's roads. Mr Alando Sidik, General Secretary of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Accra on Monday that the union was embarking on an intensive educational drive to get its members to understand the new measure and adhere to it. Mr Sidik said the GPRTU would ensure that all drivers who failed to drive within the stipulated time guidelines were handed over to the law enforcement agencies for appropriate actions to be taken against them. He said though the Logbook might not bring an end to the accidents on the roads, it could be one of the surest ways to drastically reduce them.

Meanwhile, some drivers at the Ho-Accra branch of the GPRTU who spoke to the GNA lauded the new measure. They were hopeful that it would make some of their colleagues who drove recklessly and also at top speed to desist from the acts and reduce accidents on the roads.