Transport associations told to put premium on safety
The National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) has appealed to transport associations to put premium on the safety of travelers.
Mr. Samuel Asiamah, the Ashanti Regional Manager of the Commission, said they should do more to discourage drivers from speeding and disregard for road traffic laws to prevent road crashes as Christmas approached.
He suggested the fixing of speed limit detectors in commercial vehicles to monitor drivers.
He was addressing motorists, passengers and transport associations at a road safety education outreach programme held in the Wenchi municipality.
It was organized by the Brong-Ahafo Regional Office of the NRSC to sensitize commercial drivers and motor riders on road safety regulations.
Mr Asiamah, who has been acting as the Regional Manager of the Commission, announced that 234 people were killed in the region through road clashes between January and November.
He said investigations showed that 90 per cent of the crashes was attributable to speeding and human error.
He noted that commercial drivers who did not belong to any transport union were the worst offenders and hinted of plans by the Commission to collaborate with the police to arrest and prosecute such drivers.
He said although the 1992 constitution guaranteed freedom of association, drivers who failed to join driver associations and unions breached road safety regulations.
He reminded them that the law required that they drove at the speed of 90 kilometres per hour on a highway, and between 50 and 30 kilometres within townships.
Mr. Asiamah asked drivers to make sure that all safety devices of the vehicles were functional before they put them on the road.
Police Inspector Cosmos Bazor, Municipal Officer in-charge of the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD), expressed concern about driver indiscipline in the area and urged stepped up education.
Source: GNA