Motor Traffic and Transport Division (MTTD) Commander of Winneba, DSP Charles Obiri, has advised drivers, especially those who ply the Winneba highway, to reduce speed this rainy season so as to prevent accidents.

According to him, the roads have become slippery this season so reducing speed will reduce the likelihood of deaths or serious injuries when there was a road crash.

He bemoaned the spate at which accident was claiming lives on that stretch, adding that overtaking and speeding were the major causes.

“With the oil and gas discovery in the Western Region, we now have a lot of trucks plying the Accra/Winneba to Takoradi highway and we have realised that most of the private and other commercial vehicles initiate unnecessary overtaking which often results in accidents, claiming lots of lives,” he disclosed.

The MTTD commander made this known to the media during an interview in Winneba yesterday.

He noted that drivers were doing well with their compliance with some road safety regulations but needed to check their speeding and rate at which they overtake on the Winneba highway to reduce the rate of accidents in the area.

DSP Obiri stated that the Winneba Division alone has recorded 23 accidents from April up to date involving 17 commercial cars and 17 private cars.

“This resulted in 49 injuries and two deaths and this quarter is not even ended yet,” he added

He further stated that 19 cases were recorded in the first quarter in the area with seven deaths and 26 injuries.

“We are doing our best to sensitise the drivers so we are teaming up with the road safety and the DVLA to intensify education to achieve some positive results,” he added.