649 died in 14,000 road accidents last year

Sunyani (B/A) Jan. 31, GNA - Available statistics indicate that 649 persons died in 14,854 road accidents throughout the country last year. Mr. Joe Osei-Owusu, Chief Executive of Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) of the Department of Ministry of Road and Transport announced this at a general meeting of the Authority in Sunyani at the weekend.

He said the Authority registered 59,548 vehicles last year as compared to the 48,074 vehicles in the previous year. The Chief Executive stressed on the need for the Authority to adopt pragmatic measures to rid the roads of defective vehicles, saying with the increasing vehicle population there was the likelihood of more accidents accordingly.

Mr. Osei-Owusu advised the general public to take road safety measures seriously to help curtail the alarming situation. He said the Authority had, at the end of last year generated 62.03 billion cedis through licensing, roadworthy and vehicle fees, giving the assurance that his outfit would work hard to achieve the target of 80 billion cedis this year.

The driver testing training and licensing recorded 42,609 applicants out of which 39,849 passed, while 442,885 roadworthy certificates were issued last year, the chief executive added. Mr. Osei-Owusu noted that the elimination of middlemen, popularly called 'goro boys', had been the headache of the Authority but stressed that it was the responsibility of its officers to build and raise the image of the Authority and not to collaborate with such elements.

He said plans were afoot for the Authority to computerize its activities to help eliminate fraudulent deals and expressed the hope that the first phase of the programme would be completed by the close of the year.

Mr. Osei-Owusu advised the DVLA officers to work hard to deliver good quality services to the public.