Road accidents cost Ghana millions of dollars

Bolgatanga, May 21, GNA - The National Road Safety Commission is aiming at reducing accident fatality rate to a single digit by 2015 from its present rate of 19 fatalities per 10,000 vehicles Mr. Noble John Appiah, the Executive Director of the Commission, has said.

Speaking at a meeting with stakeholders in Bolgatanga, Mr. Appiah said road accidents cost the country about 1.7 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product, over 230 million dollars every year beside the loss of lives. He said a National Road Safety Action Plan had been drawn and would be given to some major stakeholders such as the Ghana Private Road Transport Union and others for implementation and that his office would monitor and supervise the activities of the groups.

Mr Appiah said the Commission had taken measures that would be implemented at Regional and District levels to ensure safety on the road. Six towing trucks had been licensed to take care of broken down vehicles to minimize crashes, he said. Mr Appiah said at the Regional and District levels education on measures that would reduce fatalities on the roads had been programmed to create awareness in schools, churches, mosques and communities.

Mr. Appiah appealed to all Ghanaians to make road safety a passion and take steps such as use of seat belts, crash helmets and vehicle maintenance to reduce accidents and appealed to passengers to caution drivers when they over speed. Mr. Alex Ayarta, the Upper East Regional Manager of the Commission, said majority of the road accidents in the area were motor bike accidents and urged all riders to use crash helmets. He said 2008 recorded 59 deaths in the Region and this was reduced to 34 in 2009 and 13 in the first three months of 2010. Mr Ayarta said the awareness creation programme was targeting over 6,000 people.

Mrs. Lucy Awuni, the Deputy Upper East Regional Minister, mentioned under age drivers, push trucks, tractors that most of the time had no light but use the roads at night as some of the causes of accidents. She appealed to District and Municipal assemblies to pass by-laws that would encourage drivers from parking on the wrong side of the road or leaving broken down vehicles on the road.