EDITORIAL: Drunk-Driving in Ghana

This is no joking matter.

Yesterday we published a report that revealed that alcohol sale at Ghana's "lorry stations" is on the rise. Though the report did not make any direct correlation between this revelation and the high incidence of fatalities on our urban roads and highways, we can safely conclude that alcohol consumption is part of the problem.

ADM's own investigations reveal an even more worrying trend: alcohol sale and consumption at "petrol stations" and "rest stops" on highways. This is an explosive mix. Any driver can walk into any petrol station and buy alcoholic beverages as mild as beer or as harsh as whisky and consume on the premises before driving off. On the highways, the rest stops fare no better - in a sense, they are even worse.

A "tired" driver can pull up at any of these spots, and take a tot of akpeteshie or any alcoholic beverage of his choice to "wake up" before continuing on the journey. Something is wrong here. Damn wrong! Drunk-driving has been institutionalized as it were in Ghana! We need legislation to ban this canker. NOW! Where is the government? Where are our law makers?