The National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) has cautioned the public to desist from using violence in addressing concerns of poor road infrastructure in Ghana.
The Authority said the masses could resolve those concerns by contacting road agencies for redress.
Madam Simbiat Wiredu, the Ashanti Regional Director, NRSA, reacting to the recent staged demonstration at the Islamic Senior High School (SHS), at Abrepo in Kumasi, condemned the act, adding that such occurrences did not augur well for students and the learning atmosphere.
“Exposing students to these kinds of experiences is not the right thing and it will go a long way to put them in some kind of trauma,” she told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview on Thursday.
What began as a peaceful protest from the students over the frequent vehicular knockdowns in front of the school turned violent as some of the students blocked a section of the main Abrepo Junction-Barekese road in the course of the demonstration.
That was to prevent vehicles from using the road, especially the section directly in front of the School.
This resulted in a team of police personnel from the Regional Police Command being detailed to the area, who allegedly sprayed tear gas on the demonstrating students, leading to about 25 of them being hospitalised.
Madam Wiredu encouraged Ghanaians to exhibit best road practices in crossing and walking on sides of the roads.
She said most of the roads were not in good shape, hence the need for road-users to be vigilant to prevent the frequent knockdowns and crashes.
She encouraged the various road agencies to act promptly if issues of knockdowns and crashes were reported to them and work hard in correcting same to forestall future accidents.
The Urban Roads Department had since the incident installed temporary speed ramps in front of the school.
GNA