The Board Chairman of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), Rev. Ismaila Hansmittson Awudu has urged politicians to use their platforms to campaign on road safety to minimize the cases of accidents on the roads.
“Electorates could only cast their votes in the upcoming general election if they were alive and have the strength to vote”, he said and added that politicians must take advantage of their electioneering to educate the public on the safety on the roads.
The Board Chairman said this in a meeting with some stakeholders to interact with them about the safety of the road and seek their cooperation to ensure road safety.
The participants were from the National Ambulance Service, Ghana National Fire Service, the Police, NADMO, DVLA, and the MTTD.
According to him, during electioneering periods politicians engage the youth in their political campaigns to win election but the youth may sometimes engage in unhealthy behavior on the various roads that endanger their lives.
Rev. Awudu noted that the attitude of some road users causes accidents on the road.
He explained that some drivers who ply the road also do not check their vehicle to see whether it was fit to be on the road.
He said the behavior of some pedestrians such as overly concentrating on phones and wearing earphones endangered their lives and that they must refrain from the act.
Rev. Awudu said the advent of the act which transforms the body from commission to authority mandates is to coordinate and regulate the transport sector for safety compliance.
He urged stakeholders to work in partnership to ensure safety on the road.
The Board Chairman said the authority in collaboration with the stakeholders would provide rest stops for drivers who cover long distances to rest with protection from the security agencies to address the issue of fatigue.
He revealed that the authority would also ensure that every vehicle has speed limiters in them to control over speeding.
He then appealed to the various drivers’ union to collaborate with the health service and check their health status periodically especially their eyes to determine whether they could carry passengers on the road.
As part of the exercise, the authority paid a courtesy call to the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr. Eric Kwakye Darfour to discuss with him about the state of the road in the region.
The Deputy Eastern Regional Minister, Samuel Ayitey who received the delegation in the absence of Mr. Darfour urged the public to abide by the rules and regulations on the road to reduce the high level of fatalities on the road.
“Ensuring road safety is a shared responsibility which everyone must join hands to promote”, he said.
For his part, the Senior Advanced Emergency Technician (SAEMT), of the National Ambulance Service, Michael Gaani appealed to media practitioners to use their medium to educate the public on the operation of the ambulance service to save lives.
He noted that some road users decline to give way to emergency vehicles especially the ambulance whilst responding to emergencies, adding that it has caused the lives of many individuals.
Source: mybrytfmonline/David Sackey
