DPG Chairman proposes new system to rein in reckless drivers

The Chairman of the Diaspora Patriots in Ghana (DPG) Foundation, Mr. Prince Sefah, is calling for a more innovative ways to control the reckless and indiscipline behaviour of most drivers on the roads, especially the commercial drivers, in order to curb the frequent road traffic accidents in the country.

According to him, the rate of avoidable accidents on the roads is highly unacceptable and ought to be fully controlled by the appropriate authorities to save the lives of innocent road users.

In a statement issued in Accra, Mr. Sefah said, “So, I propose that all commercial drivers in this country must be promptly be given a unique tag perhaps by the DVLA, and to be displayed conspicuously inside and on the outside of the vehicles they drive.

The tag must be linked to the appropriate license, Ghana Card, Road Worthy Certificate etc. and then a telephone short code can be introduced with which people can input the tag of dangerous drivers as they observe them on the road or while onboard their vehicles”. Prince Sefah noted.

Between January and March 2021, Ghana recorded as high as 771 deaths through road accidents with 4,700 various degrees of injuries, according to a report by the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service.

And in 2020, between January and the end of August, Ghana had recorded 9,205 road crashes, involving 15,459 vehicles, resulting in 1,585 deaths. Source: [National Road Safety Authority (NRSA)].

Meanwhile, successive governments since independence have made several efforts to fight the menace of road accidents, but to no avail. This is because, the majority of the drivers take so much alcohol before driving, receive mobile phone calls whilst driving, unnecessarily over speed, make wrong overtaking, do not wear seatbelts, do not obey traffic regulations and do not respect road signs among others.

It is against this backdrop that the Deputy Director General - Operations, National Communications Authority (NCA) is proposing a more vigorous but inventive way to stop the canker and the madness of the “commercial drivers because they have maimed and killed enough people already”.

Mr. Prince Sefah said that, when the tag is set up, it could allow vehicle owners to also check the conduct of their drivers from the information received from passengers and other road users who would report to the appropriate agencies. “Insurance companies can also use such data in their rate/risk assessments”.

Calling on the National Road Safety Authority and the Ghana Police Service to strictly apply the laws and stop letting indiscipline drivers off the hook, the Chairman of the Diaspora Patriots in Ghana Foundation, said it was imperative for the authorities to help the citizens of the country to live longer and healthier instead of being killed and injured by reckless commercial drivers supervised by the police.