Mr David Osafo Adonteng, Acting Director General, National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), has asked the Government to absorb medical bills of road crash victims.
He said that intervention was necessary to support some victims, who were still on admission due to their inability to pay hospital bills and others, who were incapacitated for life.
Mr Adonteng made the call on Saturday during a Road Safety Awareness Campaign Walk organised by the NRSA to commemorate the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims (WDR) 2023.
It was organised in collaboration with the Ghana Police Service, Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), National Ambulance Service, Ghana Red Cross Society, Bloomberg Initiative, CUTS International and RANA Motors.
The WDR is commemorated on the third Sunday of November each year. It is a high-profile global event to remember the many millions, who have been killed and seriously injured on the world’s roads and to acknowledge the suffering of all affected victims, families and communities – millions added each year to countless millions already suffering.
The Day has become an important tool for governments and all those whose work involves crash prevention or response to the aftermath of crashes, since it offers the opportunity to demonstrate the enormous scale and impact of road deaths and injuries, call for an end to the often trivial and inappropriate response to road death and injury and advocate for urgent concerted action to stop the carnage.
Tribute is also paid to the dedicated emergency crews, police and medical professionals, who deal daily with the traumatic aftermath of road crashes.
The spotlight for this year’s celebration is on justice.
Mr Adonteng urged the Police to apply the necessary laws and regulations governing justice for road traffic victims by prosecuting offenders to the letter.
He said even though the road crash statistics for this year had reduced as compared to last year, the Authority would continue with its campaigns and enforcement of road safety laws to ensure the reduction of road crash deaths and injuries by 50 per cent by 2030 under the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety.
The Director General urged the public to exercise caution whilst using the road, especially during the Christmas season.
“As Christmas approaches, we know drivers will do everything to maximise profit by increasing the number of trips. This can cause tiredness and sleeping behind wheels. Let us all be careful as we use the road space, whether you are a motorist or pedestrian.”
“Endeavour to cross the road at designated points. Minimise your speed limit when driving. Motorcyclists must wear their helmets and all other protective gear. Parents must protect their children and not allow them to cross the roads, especially at night,” he advised.
He encouraged all Ghanaians to be advocates of road safety and urged the Police to populate the road space to enforce compliance of road safety laws.
Mr Adonteng said the Authority would soon commence enforcement of the NRSA laws, including enforcing the use of two drivers for long distance trips, use of logbooks indicating when and where the drivers set off from, where they stopped and their destination, adding that anyone who faltered would be sanctioned.
ADO 1 Odame of the GNFS asked the NRSA and stakeholders to identify and share road crash hotspots with the Fire Service so it could pay closer attention to such areas.
He said the GNFS would scale up its efforts in the coming year to support road safety actors to make the roads much safer for use.
The Fire officer urged Ghanaians to dial 112, 192 or 0299346014 to report emergencies for prompt actions.
GNA