Road carnage in Ghana on the rise - MTTD worried

Ghana has recorded 2,890 road crashes as against 2,830 recorded the same period in 2016 from January to March 25, 2017 the Motor Transport and Traffic Department (MTTD) has said.

It said a total of vehicles involved in these crashes also shot up from 4,088 to 4,802, killing 510 people as against 485 deaths recorded in 2016.

The Director in-charge of Education and Training, DSP Alex K. Obeng, Motor Transport and Traffic Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service, said this at the launch of Street Sense Organisation (SSO), a Non-Profit Organisation aimed at championing road safety related issues in Ghana.

He said 2,971 people were injured within the period under review as against 2,576 in 2016, adding; “the statistics are scary and we need to come together to partner government to address it.”

DSP Obeng attributed over 70 percent of the crashes to lack of maintenance of the vehicles and irresponsible driving such as over speeding and wrongful overtaking.

The SSO was established three years ago to play a vanguard role in championing road safety education in the country.

He commended the Founders of the Street Sense Organisation for their foresight and pledged the MTTD's preparedness to support them in achieving their targets.

“There is currently a deficit in road safety publicity and information sharing and we need more organisations to come on board to address the issue,” he added.

The Executive Chairman of the Street Sense Organisation, Oswald Lavoe, in a speech read on his behalf, said despite some progress over the years, road safety still remained a great national concern and it would take collaborative and concerted efforts to promote it.

“These statistics on road crashes in Ghana is startling and worrying, and we cannot just sit with folded arms and watch thousands of innocent souls perish through accidents without taking any actions," he said.

He added that the vision of the organisation was to be an effective partner in road safety issues in Ghana with a mandate to providing education, increase awareness and empowering people to bring about sanity on the roads.

"We also aim at educating road users; drivers, pedestrians and motorists on prohibitive, informative and directional signs; rights and responsibilities, and rules and regulations governing the use of the roads, among other things,” he said.

Mr Lavoe expressed gratitude to the Board of Trustees and stakeholders for their continuous support and collaboration in saving human lives and property from road accidents.

The Executive Chairman of Pergah Transport Limited, Bertha Ansah Djan, said road safety was a shared responsibility and urged the public to join hands with the Government to address the issue.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com