Road safety Awareness Campaign Hits Wa

16.11.2018 LISTEN

The National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) in the Upper West Region has marked this year's annual road safety awareness week campaign in Wa with a call to all to work together to make the roads safe.

Scores of people marched through major streets of the regional capital, holding placards with messages such as 'obey zebra crossing, speak up and save lives, over speeding kills, wear your crash helmet for your safety, stay focused, don't get distracted, be your boss and be informed'.

They included representatives of students, officials of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), Ghana National Fire Service, Immigration Service, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), Red Cross Society, National Service Personnel (NASPA), Ghana Prison Service and National Ambulance Service with the Emergency Medical Team.

'Empowering passengers and pedestrians to demand road safety,' was the theme chosen for the event.

It was used to educate road users to obey road safety signs and symbols, key precautions to preventing road accidents.

Mr. Mohammed Abdul-Samad, the Regional NRSC Manager, spoke of the need to adhere to road traffic regulations to save lives.

He expressed appreciation to the people for coming out in their numbers to support the campaign, which aimed at raising awareness about passenger and pedestrian safety ahead of the 2018 yuletide.

'Christmas is coming and we need to be careful on how to ply the road,' he said and urged passengers to speak up anytime a driver was speeding or receiving phone calls whilst driving or ignoring road signs.

'All these things are offences that are punishable by law'.

As of September this year, he said, 40 road accident deaths had been recorded in the region.

The figure, he said showed a drastic decrease as compared with the previous year's fatalities.

Mr Sabogu Samini Samuel, National Service Personnel, said the use of crash helmets and protective gears could help prevent significant deaths but 'we do not often want to put on the crash helmets'.