The Ghana Roads Safety Commission has unveiled a new template in its bid to secure the country’s roads as it engages the media for the Herculean task.
The board of directors of the commission and its management last Tuesday held a boardroom discussion on how to operate a joint war against road accidents against the backdrop of the carnage on the country’s roads, especially as the Yuletide beckons.
Leading the discussions was the board chairman, Rev. Sumaila Awudu, who said the partnership is necessary in view of the reach of the media in changing attitudes.
He said periodic meetings would be organised to tap the opinions of the media towards achieving the goal of reduced road accidents and fatalities.
The over a thousand deaths through accidents on the country’s highways from January to September details presented by the commission was as scary as it was mind-boggling, especially when the human error factor was responsible for most of the accidents.
The law enforcement agency Superintendent/Mr. Obeng, the MTTD officer in charge of research, observed that the colonial period law on road traffic regulation is still applicable hence some of the challenges they were encountering.
The good news however is that as part of the transformation of law enforcement, the human element would soon be reduced to the barest minimum. Electronic management of traffic would be in place, he said, explaining that the ticket system by which offenders would be obliged to pay fines. In most countries, the human factor has been reduced which is why motorists adhere largely to road traffic regulations.
The editors took turns to comment on matters pertaining to traffic management and how to stem the rising tide of accidents. They generally were of the opinion that there are myriads of problems which must be overcome to reduce the spate of accidents on our highways.
Before the editors took leave of their hosts, they were given the motto ‘Stop The Accidents Now’ which when propagated as the Yuletide approaches, would serve as a wakeup call to motorists to be extra vigilant and avoid the human errors which are responsible for most accidents.
By A.R. Gomda