Between the periods of January and February this year, a total of 517 persons died through road accidents according to the Ghana Police Service.
The number represents a significant increase in the 393 cases recorded in the same period last year 2020.
It is against this alarming development that Speed Limit Consult Limited in collaboration with the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), the Motor Transport and Traffic Directorate (MTTD) and Driver and Vehicle License Authority (DVLA) has rolled out the Road Masters Quiz – RMQ in Accra.
The Road Masters Quiz is part of public awareness measures being adopted to reduce the number of cases of road accidents in the country.
According to the Managing Director of Speed Limit Consult Limited, Nutifafa Agbenyega Anagbo-Bubunu, this is not only a TV game to win prizes but the ultimate aim is to educate the public on ways to avoid road accidents.
“The purpose for our gathering here this morning among other things is to make a profound statement to the whole world and other nations especially Ghana, that all hope is not lost in the fight against road crashes and to tell the National Road Safety Authority that corporate Ghana is behind them and they should not be overwhelmed by the increasing numbers in road crashes, they should continue with the good work that they are doing for mother Ghana, there is surely going to be a light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.
On her part, Director-General of the National Road Safety Authority, Ing. Mrs May Obiri-Yeboah called on the general public and corporate bodies to come on board to support the initiative to eradicate carnage on the roads.
“We as an authority have always said we cannot do it all alone, we need other stakeholders that can help us see this through and also people from corporate Ghana, who also have skills elsewhere to assist us to do some of these things,” she indicated.
She continued this time around, “we have a partner that have put something together to assist all of us because, at one time or the other, we are drivers or either pedestrians or passengers, but this particular quiz I know is geared towards mostly drivers and so we have our stakeholders, all of them here to be part of it.
…We will be using this forum as a game but also we will learn and I am sure as we go through this programme, probably for the next 52 weeks or more, and at the end of it all we will do our evaluation and I am sure it will prove that this also has contributed,” she stated.
In his official address, the patron of the Road Masters Quiz initiative Nana Dr. Appiagyei Dankawoso I, reiterated that there is a great deal of action needed not just by governments but by many others from both public and private sectors to deal with rising spate of road accidents in the country.
“I am delighted as a patron of RMQ that, so many stakeholders from the transport sector can be here today with many others who work in a related field. I am quite sure that your presence here will help to spread this National project even further. I entreat corporate Ghana to prioritize and support this program to become a great success,” he said.
According to a rep, “GPRTU is happy to be part of this program which is meant for drivers in the country. We are not only happy because it is a program for drivers but because the Road Masters Quiz – RMQ Competition will also reward these drivers. This reward-based competition will go a long to encourage drivers and will let them know that not only do the law punished wrongs but drives who exhibit good judgments on the road will one day be rewarded in a contest like this.”
The objectives of the Road Safety Advocacy Competition are to aid the lead Authority (i.e NRSA), the MTTD, and all other stakeholders in instilling safety consciousness and awareness among drivers in Ghana to minimize the numerous avoidable road accidents, to become an insightful pedestal to disseminate and promote road safety education among the general public and to provide accurate and comprehensive knowledge and available data to government and stakeholders for analysis, planning and evaluation of road safety actions.
The programme will be a weekly competition that will engage drivers in four categories who will participate in the quiz to win an ultimate prize of a Hyundai Accent 1.4cc. The four categories include;
1. Commercial Drivers A; this comprises Ridesharing drivers (Online drivers), and Taxi Cab drivers.
2. Commercial Drivers B; this comprises the mini-buses Trotro drivers, the STC, O. A Travel & Tour buses and all of the other buses that are used for commercial purposes.
3. Corporate Drivers; this comprises institutional drivers (Drivers who work within an organization).
4. Private Drivers (Individual drivers); that’s the general public anyone who drivers.
The Road Masters Quiz will be hosted by celebrated TV Quiz icon Kafui Dey.
The quiz will be aired in two different settings, the English version for that of the Commercial Drivers A, Corporate Drivers, and Private Drivers.
The second setting will be for Commercial Drivers B which will be in Akan. This is to enable the audience to understand what the quiz is about and to reach everyone in the country. The short code for registration is *380*45# at of fee of Ghc5.00.
