Three persons have been confirmed dead by the Police at Teacher Mante in the Eastern Region after a KIA bus with 31 passengers on board crashed into an articulator truck at Beposo near Teacher Mante along the Suhum -Nsawam Highway.
According to a statement released by the Police, the driver of the KIA bus was attempting to overtake a vehicle ahead of him and in the process, crashed into the articulator truck coming from the opposite direction.
The remaining occupants of both vehicles, who sustained varying degrees of injuries, were sent to the Suhum Government Hospital for treatment.
The statement further reveals that “efforts are being made to remove the mangled articulator truck which has blocked one side of the lane leading from Nsawam towards Suhum direction to pave way for the free flow of traffic”.
Read the full statement below:
On 14/03/2020, about 0145 hours, Teacher Mante Police Post received a call indicating a fatal road accident. Police proceeded to the scene which occurred at a section of the road at Beposo near Teacher Mante along Suhum -Nsawam Highway involving a DAF articulator truck No. AE 1913 – 12 loaded with Agro Chemicals belonging to Bentronic company, Kumasi, being driven by Yahaya Idrisu with his two drivers’ mates and a KIA bus with 31 passengers on board travelling from Kumasi to Aflao.
It was revealed that the KIA bus driver yet to be identified, on reaching the aforementioned spot, was attempting to overtake a vehicle ahead of him. In the process, it crashed into the Agro-Chemical articulator truck coming from the opposite direction leaving three dead from the KIA bus. The remaining occupants of both vehicles who sustained varying degree of injuries were rushed to Suhum Government Hospital for treatment.
The KIA bus which run into a ditch at the opposite lane landed on its offside body with the wheels facing the road. The National Fire Service from Suhum as well as the National Ambulance also from Suhum were in attendance for assistance.
Efforts are being made to remove the mangled articulator truck which had blocked one side of the lane leading from Nsawam towards Suhum direction to pave way for the free flow of traffic. You will be informed of any further development, please. No.8704 PW L/ Cpl Gifty i/c case.
Ban on night travel
As part of measures to reduce the occurrence of road crashes in the country, the National Road Safety Authority has welcomed the idea of banning night-time long distance travels.
This proposal came after a recent fatal crash involving a Sprinter bus and Grandbird bus on the Tamale-Kintampo road that led to the death of 31 people with many of them burnt beyond recognition due to a resultant fire outbreak.
The Executive Director of the National Road Safety Authority, May Obiri Yeboah speaking to Citi News welcomed the suggestion saying, it could be adopted upon deliberations and considerations of its likely impact.
She indicated that: “That is another thing we can look at. We can look at the pros and cons also. If it’s something that can be done, we will issue a statement whether by the Ministry or by us and if it’s accepted, why not? So that we protect lives. After all, if you want to go somewhere and you never get there and rather you’ll stay back and plan your journey properly so that you can get there on time, why not? So it’s something that can be considered. We can think through it and see whether as a nation, that is what we can also do.”
But the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) and some of its drivers are kicking against this proposal, saying that road crashes are mainly caused by the poor nature of the country’s roads and not due to driver error.
Statistics on road crashes
Road crashes claimed 2,284 lives in 2019, according to provisional data compiled by the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD).
This marked a significant increase from 2018 where 2,020 persons died on Ghana’s roads.
This would be the highest fatality figure in the last decade if validated by the National Road Safety Commission.
The highest so far was in 2012 where 2,240 people died in road crashes.
Ghana’s least fatal year for road crashes in the last decade was 2015 where 1,802 people died.
The regional breakdown of crashes saw the Greater Accra with 5,483; Ashanti with 3,213; Eastern with 1,212; Western with 1,143; Central with 902, Brong Ahafo with 652, Volta with 593, Northern with 270, Upper East with 254, and Upper West with 155.