A joint task-force of Police Motor Traffic and Transport Division (MTTD) and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) have embarked on a compliance and sensitization drive for this year’s Easter festivities.
According to the team, the goal of the engagement is to reduce road traffic violations which usually lead to deaths.
Many Ghanaians are commuting by road for the extended weekend as they celebrate Easter.
A significant amount of the traffic will be heading towards Kwahu, via the Accra Kumasi Road, which, though not among the most dangerous roads in Ghana, has seen a fair amount of fatal road crashes.
Manager of Compliance and Enforcement at the DVLA, Joseph Clifford Obosu who spoke to Citi News about the team’s key expectations said these measures are to ensure an incident-free Easter.
“We are here to remind the the drivers and car owners to ensure regular maintenance of their vehicles. Since the Easter is also about festivities, people are likely to drink. So we are educating them not to drink and drive. Drivers who want to drive at night should have enough rest. We are urging drivers to drive defensively and cautiously so that we have an incident free Easter. These measures are to ensure that, passengers arrive at their destinations safely without crashes on the road.”
Other stakeholders such as the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC), are embarking on similar exercises to ensure that, the Easter festivities are celebrated without any road traffic accidents.
Statistics
Within the last 28 years, about 46, 284 Ghanaians have been killed in road accidents nationwide.
The spate of road accidents prompted Cabinet to approve GHc 1 billion for the implementation of major road safety reforms.
The amount will be used to put up road safety signs, re-paint defaced road markings and also fix the many faulty traffic lights on our roads.
An inter-ministerial Committee set up President Akufo-Addo in 2018 to investigate the cause of road carnage made these recommendations.
GHc 6.5 million has also been allocated to the National Road Safety Commission (NSRC) for public sensitization and training.