Demand Rises For SeatBelts

Shortage at Abossey Okai as demand rises There is an increase in the demand for secondhand seat belts at Abossey Okai.

Dealers in the product have attributed the sharp rise in demand to a special educational campaign mounted by the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of Ghana Police Service on the need for the use of car seat belts and other accessories.

They say the increase in demand has caused a shortage of the product, as commercial drivers troop to the market to get the belts fixed on their cars.

Investigations at Abossey Okai show that in the past, car seat belts were not considered important at all by dealers and vehicle owners when shopping for spare parts.

The demand for other car accessories such as fire extinguishers and hazard triangles has also shot up.

According to Edem Acquah and Kwadwo Adjei, all spare parts dealers at Abossey Okai, seat belts in the past were sold at giveaway prices because there was no demand for them.

Currently a pair of second hand seat belts of an Opel car sells at ¢600,000 while that of other models sells at a minimum of ¢300,000.

The dealers said the accessories for the Opel vehicles were more expensive because Opel was the model mostly used by commercial drivers.

Other accessories such as wipers, fire extinguishers, side rear mirror, headlights and trafficators had also seen an increase in demand and subsequent increases in price.

They said before the MTTU's educational campaign, a pair of side mirrors of an Opel car sold between ¢140,000 and ¢160,000 while fire extinguishers which come in three sizes ranged from ¢40,000 and ¢120,000.

Commanding officer of the Central Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU), Chief Superintendent Victor Tandoh was satisfied with the driver's reaction to the educational campaign, but advised them not to go for substandard belts and accessories.