GARAGES at Suame Magazine in Kumasi where most Mercedes Benz cargo vehicles are converted to passenger buses are providing some clues to the cause of the carnage which has become so rampant on roads in Ghana.
When the Daily Graphic visited the garages on Tuesday, mechanics were busy on their usual chore of remodelling and converting what is popularly referred to as 207 Mercedes Benz cargo trucks to passenger vehicles, two days after a bloody accident involving one of such buses on a bridge across the River Offin in the Ashanti Region.
According to the mechanics, the remodelling involved, among other things, elongating the vehicle and its chassis and converting the chassis from single to double tyres to enable the vehicle take more passengers.
They, however, insisted that that had nothing to do with the accidents involving 207 buses.
Officials of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), when contacted on the issue, indicated that they had consistently refused to register or renew the road worthy certificates of such vehicles when they were converted from cargo to passenger vehicles, since the vehicles so converted had had their brakes tampered with or had defective rear brakes.
Other sources told the Daily Graphic that certain elements within the brake system, when worn out, were difficult to replace and that compelled local artisans to “condemn” those brake parts and make some “alterations” for the modelled vehicle to continue in business.
That came to light during investigations by the Daily Graphic to establish the road worthiness of 207 Benz passenger vehicles, following numerous accidents involving the buses, resulting in critical injuries to passengers and massive loss of lives.
According to road safety statistics in the Ashanti Region alone, between January and July this year, 1,113 vehicles had been involved in accidents, claiming the lives of 146 people.
Two hundred of the accident vehicles were 207 Benz passenger buses, with a disproportionately high percentage of casualties.
Last Sunday alone 17 lives were lost in the latest accident involving a 207 Benz bus at Amoako, near Boamang in the Afigya-Kwabre District of the Ashanti Region.
On why the 207 Benz buses had been involved in so many fatal accidents, the mechanics explained that the accidents should rather be attributed to the attitudes of the drivers, instead of the activities of the mechanics.
"Many of such vehicles ply the Kumasi-Accra, Kumasi-Takoradi, Kumasi-Enchi and other roads of the country without any problems,” one senior mechanic said, adding that "it is the few undisciplined drivers who always bring pain and agony to Ghanaians as a result of their reckless driving".
The mechanics said a lot of effort went into the modelling of the vehicles from single-tyre cargo trucks to double-tyre passenger ones as a way of stabilising the vehicle when in motion.
When the Daily Graphic got in touch with Mr Noah Tetteh Matey, the Principal Technical Engineer of the DVLA in Kumasi, he confirmed that the double tyres in 207 Benz buses enhanced road safety.
"The conversion from single tyres to double is good because in case of any tyre burst the other tyres support the vehicle to prevent any accident. But the mechanics should involve the DVLA in all the processes," he noted.
Mr Matey, however, expressed concern over the elongation of the chassis of 207 Benz buses by the mechanics, saying the mechanism had adverse effect on road safety because it was dangerous and could cause accidents.
Explaining, he said, "The moment you touch the frame with fire you reduce the properties of the material used to build the vehicle and make it fragile. It, therefore, becomes dangerous to road safety."
Mr Matey noted further that vehicles with elongated chassis, as well as defective rear brakes, were always denied road worthy certificates and registration by his outfit.
That, he said, was to ensure that vehicle owners put their vehicles in good condition to make travelling more comfortable and enjoyable.
He said road safety was not the responsibility of the DVLA and the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) alone and, therefore, called on the station masters of the various transport unions to collaborate with other stakeholders to reduce the spate of accidents on the roads.
He challenged the unions to ensure that vehicles that loaded at their stations had very good tyres and brakes, stressing that it was equally important for them to ensure that drivers had the requisite experience before they were allowed to take charge of vehicles.
When contacted, the Commander in charge of MTTU in the Ashanti Region, Superintendent James Sarfo Peprah, indicated that accidents had been occurring, in spite of the numerous road safety campaigns being carried out, and, therefore, urged drivers to respect road safety campaigns to reduce the spate of accidents on the roads.
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