408 die in road accidents in the Ashanti Region

Four hundred and eight people were killed in road accidents in the Ashanti region last year.

The figure is higher than the 353 deaths which occurred through accidents in 2005.

The Regional Road Safety Co-ordinator, K Oware Boateng said that the increase showed the rate at which some of the drivers who used the roads were reckless.

He said in just one accident last year. 37 people lost their lives at Akropong Junction and expressed the hope that this year would not witness any such thing.

Mr Oware Boateng indicated that in all 2,028 accidents, involving 2,857 vehicles were reported in the Ashanti region last year. The number of injuries recorded was 1,892.

In 2005, he said there were 2,357 accidents involving 3,843 vehicles with injuries numbering 2,593 injuries.

He said his outfit in conjunction with the police was intensifying road safety educational programmes in the districts.

The co-ordinator stated that those educational programmes were very important in reducing the rate of accidents.

He challenged drivers to be extra cautious on the roads, especially during this harmattan season when visibility is poor.

He stressed the need for transport owners to employ qualified drivers, particularly through the transport unions.

Wa records 567 accidents

Meanwhile, a total of 567 road accidents, which claimed 92 lives were recorded in the Western Region last year as against 328 with 88 deaths the previous year.

According to the Regional Co-ordinator of the National Road Safety Commission, Thomas Bismarck Boakye, that showed an improvement in the efforts to curb accidents in view of the steady increase in the number of vehicles in the region to the barest minimum.

He said the 2006 records involved 768 vehicles, adding that 64 of the accidents were classified as fatal while 163 were described as serious.

The regional co-ordinator said activities, including community education on the right use of the road by pedestrians, particularly children, dubbed “Pedestrian Walk Show”, and the active involvement of the NRSC in checking speeding had been planned for this year.

Public education would also be organised for road users, including bicycle and motorcycle riders, he said.