The National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), in collaboration with stakeholders such as the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD), is intensifying efforts against overspeeding by commercial drivers as the festive season approaches.
The authority says it will leverage the Ghana Police Service Traffictech-GH automated system to identify and prosecute offenders.
According to data available to the Road Safety Authority, a total of 1,839 persons perished in road crashes between January and October this year.
Speaking at a press briefing, the Acting Director-General of the National Road Safety Authority, Engineer David Osafo Adonteng, cautioned drivers against overspeeding as he launched the NRSA’s Christmas road safety campaign dubbed “Stop Speeding – Stay Alive.”
Engineer David Osafo Adonteng said, “We must think road safety at all times, and thinking road safety requires us to obey all road traffic rules and regulations. Stop speeding, stay alive. Excessive speeding is the root cause of all fatal crashes globally and in Ghana. Ensuring a reduction in travel speed in compliance with maximum speed limit laws and regulations, that is 90 km per hour on the highways, 50 km per hour in towns and settlements, 30 km per hour in schools and crowded areas.”
“It is only on the motorway that the expectation is that we move not more than 100 km per hour. And this is going to be our focus, our main focus for our outreach activities for this year’s Christmas and road safety campaign. No one has the right to exhibit lawlessness, or misconduct himself or herself on the road, in a manner that undermines the right of others to use the road. We are and will make it difficult if not impossible for any driver or rider to be involved in excessive speeding on our roads.”
Godfred Abulbire, General Secretary of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) indicated plans to have its members compulsorily insert speed limiters in their vehicles.
He stated, “There are several strategies that road safety has identified, which include defensive driving, passenger empowerment, and the rest. Now, this year they have selected this theme for everybody to set their eyes on to ensure it is complied with. From the GPRTU angle, what we did is to liaise with road safety. And they have identified one consultant that has a company called UCL, that will insert typography and speed limiters on our cars.”
“So GPRTU, by next week, is going to compulsorily insert speed limiters in all cars that move within 50 km. Yesterday, per the consultant, he said from here to Kumasi, here to Takoradi, here to Tamale, everywhere, they are going to insert speed limiters to make sure no car can go beyond the particular speed limit that road safety has actually approved.”