34 Die Weekly In Road Accidents

Statistics available to the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) revealed that 4,870 accidents were recorded during the first quarter of the year.

These tragic incidents claimed the lives of 408 people which translate to 34 deaths per week. A total of 3,240 also suffered various degrees of injuries in these accidents. The Chairman of the National Road Safety Commission, Mr Johnson Clifford Aboagye, made these disclosures at the opening ceremony of the Driver Upgrading Training Course for 420 commercial drivers from the meddle and southern sectors of the country last Tuesday which ends in September, is being sponsored by the NRSC in collaboration with the Ghana Road Transport Coordinating Council (GRTCC). It is part of the effort by the NRSC's objective of reducing accident fatalities by 5% by 2005 and also in fulfillment of the GRTCC's programme of restructuring the operations of commercial drivers.

Mr Aboagye said the training will help to equip the drivers with the necessary knowledge to enable them drive with care and reduce accidents. It is estimated that over 80% of road accidents are caused by the human factor. The programme, he said, is appropriate and timely as Christmas is approaching and also with political campaign activities drivers will be busy carrying people around the country.

Mr Aboagye urged Ghanaians to collectively help achieve the goal of reducing accidents considerably.