The leadership of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) is asking its members to comply with the directive by the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) for all inter-city transport operators to have two drivers for journeys over eight hours.
“It is important that we all comply with this,” the General Secretary for GPRTU, Godfred Abulbira Adogma said in a Citi News interview.
“They wrote directly to all transport operators and we also intend to write to all our regional branches to inform their long-distance drivers in order to get themselves ready.”
“We only want to wish they comply some element of strictness and make sure that every long-distance bus driver or bus owner complies with the directive,” Mr. Adogma added.
According to the authority, the directive which will take effect from April 1, 2021, forms part of measures to minimise the risks associated with night travel.
This is part of five directives that were announced by the authority on Wednesday, March 3, 2021.
The four other directives are:
- All target operators are required to train their drivers in Defensive Driving in accordance with standards approved by the Authority & DVLA. This is enforceable from July 1st, 202.
- All target operators are required to introduce the use of vehicle log books to help enforce the protocols on maximum driving hours & high speeds. This is enforceable from April 1, 2021.
- All target operators shall be required to appoint Road Safety Officers who shall be responsible for conducting pre-departure checks at all terminals. The Operators shall notify the Authority of the appointment on or before April 1, 2021.
- All operators providing inter-city services shall fit retro-reflective tapes approved by DVLA on their vehicles in accordance with Regulation 80 of L.I.2180. This shall be enforceable on April 1st, 2021.
There will be Road Safety Inspectors who will be conducting random and periodic operational audits at target terminals to ensure compliance.