Make Ghana Roads Safe With Belgium Road Safety Plan

Road safety cameras in Europe reduce road accidents and generate tax for the government

In Ghana, a healthy person’s life can abruptly come to an end through a road accident. Apart from the disease Aids, which has been a number one killer in Africa, accidents on Ghanaian roads are claiming the lives of innocent travellers.

According to data published by the World Health Organization in 2017, Road Accidents Deaths in Ghana reached 7,144, that is 3.39% of total deaths. Apart from bad roads and speed, which often take the lives of road users, Ghana’s roads are death traps because they lack significant road signs and enough cautions.

A Ghanaian driver doesn’t know that this is a road that demands 30 or 50 kilometers per hour, thus, unnecessary speed has claimed thousands of lives and continues to claim because the road warnings and teachings to users aren’t enough or even don’t exist.

On July 4, 2018, in an article published on ModernGhana news site captioned “Akufo-Addo Laments Growing Misinformation,” speaking at the 12th congregation of the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) in Accra, the President praised the journalists and adviced them to keep away from misleading and false information.

It’s true that false information and misleading articles are now part of journalism, especially in Europe and America. An important example is the false information about Aids and Ebola. Therefore, it is good for the president to advice the Ghanaian journalists.

However, one important question I would like to ask Nana Akufo Addo is: “Does he make any good use of articles Ghanaian journalists write to suggest the improvement of the economy and the creation of employment in the country?

In my opinion, Ghanaian leaders ignore the articles written by journalists to improve the hard living conditions in the country, the reason thousands of Ghanaians are suffering to today without any hope.

The Ghanaian government lacks effective methods of generating tax, yet they ignore articles suggesting effective proper taxation which could enhance the economy of the country.

How many articles have Ghanaian journalists written about the investment in tourism to create employment and improve Ghana’s economy? Yet, no Ghanaian leader seems interested in what will actually bring comfort to Ghanaians.

Europeans and Americans go to school to be drivers, while thousands of African drivers are illiterates

Ghanaians are dying daily on our bad roads and through unnecessary speed but are Ghanaian leaders prepared to learn and take a certain measure from articles written by Ghanaian journalists?

There are accidents in Europe too but why more people die on African roads than Europe? In Europe, it is not easy to get a driving but very easy in Africa. European and Americans go to school to be drivers, while in Africa thousands of drivers are illiterates.

Despite over 4 decades of my experience as a driver, God only knows what I went through before having my European driving license. I have already published my story on ModernGhana: So You Think You Know How To Drive? - Modern Ghana

European governments are very clever that they minimize road deaths and generate tax as well, by installing road cameras that take number plates of speeding vehicles. All roads in Europe have road signs regulating the movements of the traffic. The camera automatically takes the number plate of a vehicle doing 70 kilometers on a 50 kilometers road or a vehicle doing 100 on 70 kilometers of road.

Traffic violation fines in Europe are used to develop the country. In the photo are warning to motorists that traffic camera ahead of you to reduce speed or avoid any traffic violation

Since all vehicles are computerized and registered, no one in Europe escapes a traffic violation fine. If you violate a traffic rule, within two weeks, you will receive a letter from the police on which road and time you violated the traffic rule. Depending on how serious the violation is some of the fines attract between 35 to 45 Euros.

In Ghana, some drivers even pass through Red Lights, leading to road accidents, this is what the traffic cameras in Europe are looking for those road violators to pay a fine. Again, there are hundreds of Ghanaian roads without light leading to many road accidents. Roads without lights? It's rare in Europe and America.

When one violates a traffic rule and you fail to pay the fine on the date requested in your letter it, the amount goes up. This is one of the reasons even though, Europe hasn’t vast resources than Africa, they are rich than Africa.

To avoid traffic parking congestion, parking meters have been installed to put in money depending on how long you are going away. This is another tax generating method which has disciplined drivers for those who don't want to pay to choose a free parking place provided by the government.

Africa hates challenge and will, therefore, never try anything challenging, the reason the continent never moves forward. Yet, the continent can easily be transformed if the leaders put corruption aside and use the money to develop the continent.

Let this article be a rubbish to the Ghanaian government or follow the project to reduce road accidents in the country and also earn money from it as a new tool in Ghana's tax generation.