Call For New Methods In Teaching Driving

Mr Godfred Akyea-Darkwah, the Chief Executive Officer of Road Safety and Transportation Consultancies Ltd, has called for a paradigm shift in the teaching of driving in the country.

He said the current method of teaching, which emphasised defensive driving, was outmoded and should be looked at critically. Road Safety and Transportation Consultancies Ltd are researchers,practitioners and trainers in the transport sector.

Mr Akyea-Darkwah made the call at the end of a driving management science (DMS) course for 63 drivers of the Agricultural Development Bank in Accra.

Mr Akyea-Darkwah advocated DMS to replace defensive driving as a way of reducing the carnage on the country's roads, saying defensive driving was not applicable in developing countries, since drivers were not well-schooled on road safety.

He contended that DMS was the preferred choice for driving institutions because it also dealt with the behaviour, attitude and security consciousness of the driver.

He said under DMS, drivers would be taught professional ethics and drivers' customer care, adding that his outfit was committed to raising the standard of driving in the country to the international level.

Mr Akyea-Darkwah said the vision of RSTC was to reduce accident fatality in the country and also raise vehicle driving into a chartered professional status.

Addressing the drivers, Mr K. Kwegyir-Aggrey, acting Head of the Human Resource Development of ADB, was hopeful that those who had gone through the course would operate the vehicles assigned to them in a much safer way, ensure their proper maintenance and also display more courtesy to other road users.

Story by Severious Kale Dery