Central Region Road Safety Committee Cautions On Importation Of Used Tyres

Cape Coast, (Central Region) 23 Oct.,

The Central Region road safety committee has suggested the setting up of a body to examine imported second-hand lorry tyres and spare parts before they are put on the market. This is because some of them have been found to be the cause of road accidents. Some of the tyres which have been remoulded, the committee observed, were discarded items in their countries of origin which should not be allowed to be dumped into the country. At an emergency meeting of the committee in Cape Coast yesterday the members expressed concern about the increasing number of road accidents in the region and said passengers have the right to challenge drivers ''who toy with their lives'' through over-speeding, careless driving and driving under the influence of alcohol. The committee advised all drivers, especially private car owners and those popularly known as ''one pound one pound'' drivers, to exercise patience on the road and to avoid unnecessary overspeeding and overtaking. The chairman of the committee, deputy regional police commander Kwaku Siaw, announced that between January and September this year 124 people were killed and 1,161 others were injured in 651 road accidents in the region. He said in 1996 a total of 165 people were killed while 1,321 others were injured in 821 accidents. In 1995, 148 people were killed and 1,111 others were injured in 681 accidents, he said.