Road Safety Awareness Message For This Christmas Season 2014 And The New Year 2015

We are all aware that many of the roads in our beloved Country are unfortunately not to the standard of road worthiness we would all desire them to be. There were 10,061 road traffic accidents recorded as at the end of the 3rd quarter 2014. Of these there were 16,666 vehicles involved, 6,871 involved commercial vehicles, 6,643 involved private vehicles and 2,086 involved motor cycle.

Almost 1,500 people have died through this. It is a sad fact that many of these accidents could've been avoided.

What we need is to apply some basic driving knowledge to our day to day driving experience. This will significantly reduce the number of accidents we see on our roads.

1) As a Passenger Carrying Vehicle License Holder, ( PCV Driver ) your first priority is your safety, as well as the Safety & Comfort of your Passengers.

a) You must do your daily walk round checks of your vehicle, especially on the wheels ( tyres ) of the vehicle, to see if there is any deep cuts that could put you and your passengers life in danger.

Make sure brakes, horn, and gears are not faulty. Make sure all lights are in a good working condition, including brake lights, indicator lights, headlights, sidelights, as well as interior lights.

b) You must have a good ( observation ) view ahead of what is happening on both sides of the road on which you're driving. You should be able to see at least a 100 to 200 yards before you reach a particular point on the road throughout your driving journey.

By doing this, it will help improve your observation, and your perception towards hazards on the road, so that you can react positively to whats happenings on the road to avoid road traffic collision ( accident ).

c) do not overtake vehicles in front anyhow. Before overtaking you must make sure it is not on a bend or on a curve and the road ahead is clear. You should not overtake going up a hill, or down a hill.

d) When someone attempts to overtake you let them go. Do not race with them, by doing this you will avoid accidents ( collision ) happening and help save lives.

You'll never know what is going on in that vehicle, so please stop pushing them against oncoming vehicles for a possible collision, ( accident ) to take place. You never know someone close to you, maybe be onboard that vehicle.

Always consider ( watch) your speed, the fact that the road ahead is clear does not mean you can do whatever speed you like. Think about what will happen if you are not in full control of your vehicle, and think about the danger of a possible collision ( accident ) and its consequences. Always be in control of your vehicle, never let your vehicle be in control of you.

e) Do not get too close to the vehicle in front, as you'll need enough time and distance to stop. This will avoid a possible ( accident ) collision, in case the vehicle in front stops suddenly.

f) In a slow moving traffic make sure you have a clear view of the rear wheels ( tyres ) of the vehicle in front so you can get round it, in case the vehicle breakdown.

2) The effects of being under the influence of ( Drink Driving) Alcohol whiles Driving.

a) Alcohol we all know makes one less conscious of dangers and can prevent the driver from reacting early to hazards or avoidable accidents.

b) Alcohol slow down the reaction time of a driver. It can also give you a false sense of confidence behind the wheel.

If we abide by these rules, we could, ve saved alot of lives as well as cut down on the use of valuable resources to deal with these accidents when they occur. Remember it could be you or a relative who gets hurt or worse.

We wish all road users Merry Christmas and a prosperous New year. GHANAIAN TRANSPORT WORKERS ASSOCIATION UK needs you alive, Ghana needs you alive.

SIGNED:
Chairman Mr. Kingsley Adumattah Agyapong.
UNITED WE STAND!!!