42 people die weekly on Cape Coast-Accra road

The Western Regional Coordinator of the
Ghana Road Safety Commission (GRSC), Mr Bismark Boakye on Tuesday said an average of 42 people die weekly on the Mallam-Yamoransa Highway through motor accidents.

According to him statistics from his organisation indicated that between 2003 and 2005, motor accidents claimed an average of five lives on daily basis and.

He said as a result the Commission together with other stakeholders introduced measures which reduced the incidence to four from 2005 to 2008.

Mr Boakye, who said this at a meeting, called on the Regional Police Commander to evolve strategies to curb the carnage on the region's roads.

It was attended by transport unions, officials from the Driver and Vehicle Licenses Authority (DVLA), GRSC, the Police and some commercial drivers.

Mr Boakye was unhappy that instead of having a downward trend on accident cases due to the regular road safety education carried out by the Commission, accident cases were rather going up with a rise in the death toll.

Mr Boakye said President Mills had instructed that from Monday, April 6, 2009, the police and the Commission together with other stakeholders should strictly enforce road safety regulations.

He said commercial vehicle drivers plying long journeys would be made to carry log books to monitor their routes to help prevent fatigue driving, while heavy vehicles would be compelled to use reflective stickers.

Mr Boakye appealed to the transport unions to organize frequent seminars and courses for drivers to sustain the awareness creation.

Chief Superintendent Charles Oduro Botchway, the Regional Commander of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU), added that there would be snap checks, particularly during the night.

Chief Sup. Botchway advocated for the enactment of a legislative instrument to ban the use of mobile phones when driving.

The Regional Police Commander, DCOP Akayire Kamparah said from January to March last year, a total of 132 accidents involving 160 vehicles with 19 deaths and 111 injured were recorded.

He said this year for the same period the nation had recorded 186 accidents reported cases involving 327 vehicles with 60 deaths and 166 injured.

He appealed to all stakeholders to join forces and work collectively to help reverse the trend.