Insecurity on our roads

The Christmas period is here again and traveling to and fro within the country
will increase, but the question we need to ask ourselves is how safe our roads
are. Accidents and robbery on our roads are rampant in recent times. Accidents
on our roads are majorly due to the nature of our roads, lack of security
personnel on the major parts of the roads also leads to both accidents and
robbery and recalcitrant drivers cause accidents.
Recent accidents and robbery on our roads can be attributed to low number of
security personnel on our roads. Though there are security personnel on roads,
these personnel must not be only at the police barriers but also at dangerous
and neglected places along the route of travel. Example when travelling from
Accra to Kumasi, you will find a number of neglected and dangerous places before
getting to the barrier. Robbery takes place at these dangerous places because
there are no security personnel at these places. The government and transport
operators must make sure that any vehicle that travel at any particular time
must have a security on it to ensure the security of the passengers.
Another reason for the causes of accidents on our roads is the nature of our
roads most under construction or under deplorable state. This cause most
accidents because anytime there is heavy rainfall in such areas the roads get
flooded and therefore hinders safety movement of vehicles. The other deplorable
roads having potholes causes most accidents on moving vehicles. The government
and other institutions concern must make sure that major travelling roads are
well maintained and construction must take place in time.
Recalcitrant drivers also contribute a lot to most accidents on our roads. These
drivers do not heed to the driving signs by the road including violating traffic
light rules, drivers drink and drive though education about still on going. Most
drivers drive at speed limits that are not allowed at that particular time or
place not only that, few of the drivers on our roads can hardly tell the meaning
of most of the road signs. Drivers do overtaking at any place especially on
Accra-Kumasi road; drink driving and the use of drugs by the drivers also cause
them to into accidents. Drivers must drive within their capacities so that they
will avoid the use of drugs and also as Mr Quaye (Inspector General of Police)
said the Ghana Police Service together with the Driver, Vehicle and Licensing
Authority and the National Road Safety Commission had recently embarked on a
special exercise to ensure that vehicles were in good condition and that
qualified drivers drove them.
The poor maintenance of vehicles on the road also contributes to the accidents
on our roads, sometimes break failure or another thing pertaining to the
vehicle. Car owners and even drivers must adopt a good maintenance culture so
that accidents caused by faults of vehicles will be avoided.
Another is the negligent of duty on the part of the police or traffic wardens.
Most of the road security personnel do other things instead concentrating on
insuring that drivers do the right thing. The police taking money fro the
recalcitrant drivers make those drivers the owner of the road instead of users.
The MTTU must make sure that enough education and advice is given to the traffic
wardens and other traffic controllers so that they discharge their duties
without weary.
Security on our roads must be ensured to save the lives that are lost always.
The police should be devoted so that they follow up on any suspected action. The
population of a country determines how powerful the country will be. The
government must be on his toes to prevent road robbery and other illegal action,
we road users are suffering.
Lamptey Alfred
Knust
Alfredlamptey88@yahoo.com