Director of Planning and Programmes at the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC), Mr. David Osafo Adonteng, has observed with worry that speeding is a problem in Ghana responsible for about 60% of fatal crashes.
According to him, the level at which drivers speed on the highway in the country was very alarming, hence their resolve to create awareness to address the menace.
Addressing the media at Winneba last week during a collaborative effort by the NRSC, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) and the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service to observe the week-long West Africa Road Safety Organisation and UN Global Road Safety Day celebrations, he noted that they have combined forces to keep drivers who ply the Kasoa to Takoradi highway in check since the stretch was a hotspot of accidents in the country.
He pointed out that they are focusing on speeding because of the many lives that have been lost due to it havoc, adding that speed checks have been mounted at different locations on that stretch to check the menace.
The director said their presence has instilled some sense of decency in some drivers and expressed the wish that resources be made available to enable them do more periodic checks to address the issue.
“We realised that most of these drivers do not know how the laws governing their operations work as far as loading and speeding is concerned so we have taken it upon ourselves to educate them and we think that if this is done often the figures we’ve been receiving will go down so far as speeding is concerned,” he said.
He also advised drivers to be responsible and minimise their speed so as to protect lives and properties.
An officer from the national MTTD, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Adu Boahen, explained that they have so far been educating drivers on the need to reduce speed as well as passengers on pedestrian crossing to reduce casualties on the roads.
