Superintendent Alex Amenyah of the Motor Traffic and Transport Department of the Ghana Police has called on drivers to always have their licenses with them as well as ensuring that all documents covering the vehicle are up to date.

He said by doing so passengers would feel assured of their safety and it would also prevent the police from arresting them.

Supt. Amenyah gave the advice at a day’s seminar on Defensive Driving in Accra, jointly organised by Krystal Reservation and the Ghana Private Roads Transport Union (GPRTU) for drivers. It was on the theme: “Safe Driving Saves Life”.

He asked the drivers to be vigilant because “all road users are potential lunatics and also erase the wrong impression of being experienced and smart, adding that, they should always obey road signs and traffic regulations.

He urged the executives of GPRTU to collaborate with road safety management teams to organise periodic refresher classes for drivers.

Supt Amenyah said policing was a shared responsibility so drivers should always help the police and other security agencies with the needed information on the activities of criminals.

Mr Issah Khaleepha, the National General Secretary of the GPRTU, said hitherto, drivers were referred to as “common drivers” but now people have realised that it is not a common profession, because of the role they play in the country’s economy.

He said “if commercial drivers were to embark on a strike for a day, the economic impact on the nation would be chaotic and disastrous”, so you must respect your job so that the public would respect you too, so stop misbehaving whiles driving and drive safely.”

Mr Khaleepha said anytime a passenger boards their vehicle they have established an automatic social contract of transporting the person to his or her destination safely and so they should be civil with passengers.

“When you are on the wheels avoid quarrelling with passengers because in the business world we say the customer is always right and so we need to pamper them to get their money, after all, how many hours is the passenger going to be in your vehicle.”

He advised commercial drivers to stop fidgeting with their car radios and avoid picking phone calls whiles driving because it leads to accidents and advised them to go for regular health screening, especially their eyes.

Mr Emmanuel Nii Ankrah, the Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the GPRTU, said they have joined hands with Krystal Reservation to sharpen the defensive driving skills of the driver, to provide best transport services to the public and to improve the image of the profession.

He said they have instituted a yearly award for drivers to encourage them to put in their maximum and help promote internal tourism by commuting people safely to places of interest.

Reverend Raymond Okeke Gbeku of the Aman Institute, a road safety management institution and the facilitator of the of the seminar, took the drivers through defensive driving techniques such as driver attitude and behaviour, rules of overtaking, space management, alcohol and drug abuse, stress and fatigue management and understanding road signs.

He urged the transporters to always let their eyes, ears and minds be hundred per cent on the road as they drive to avoid accidents.