The GHANAIAN PUBLISHER last week in this same editorial space bemoaned the death toll on our roads in the country.
Just last week, three promising Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) students were killed in two separate road accidents adding to the ever- rising tally of road deaths in the country.
Usually, the number of people who are maimed, injured and and incapacitated as a result of the crush are not the focus as the death toll.
That is why the call by the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) on the government to organize a forum to conscientize both commercial and private driver’s in the country to help reduce the spate of road fatalities in the country is appropriate.
The GPRTU bemoaned the state of indiscipline on the country’s roads saying inadequate road markings on major roads contribute significantly to road fatalities in the region.
The Eastern Regional Treasurer of GPRTU, Mr. Paul Kanatey made the call on the sidelines of phase 2 of the Arrive Alive Road Safety Operation by DVLA, MTTD, National Road Safety Authority aimed at reducing road accidents before, during, and after the Easter festivities.
“It’s unfortunate that these mistakes keep on happening day in and day out. Driving has become like a business where most people who couldn’t make it through school will like to use it to make ends meet and because of that, they get themselves engaged in driving illegalities. A lot of these drivers also operate without a license mainly because of the high rate of licensing fees and how there the lack of a strict policy before handing out licenses. A lot of cars also do a lot of overloading.”
He is also quoted as having told leaders to invest in road markings so that drivers will have a good bearing, especially while driving at night.
“Driving on asphalt when rain falls is very difficult because the roads get slippery so when there are no road markings, it is difficult to get your bearing especially when other vehicles throw lights on you. So road markings are very important to me since I am always behind a steering wheel and not in an office working, so I am speaking from experience.”
He also called on vehicle owners to ease the pressure given to drivers to double sales to stop speeding by commercial drivers.
The *GHANAIAN PUBLISHER* believes that this call is long over due in view of the many productive lives lost on Ghana’s roads.
To us, its high time the police and its allied agencies worked extra hard to save lives and more especially make reckless driving a boring venture for errant drivers.
Road check operations as and the taskforce must embark on swift enforcement to clamp down on careless and irresponsible driver because lives lost cannot be brought back.
The paper urges the powers that be to listen to the request of the GPRTU and see how needless deaths would be averted.