ASHANTI ROAD SAFETY COMMISSION CAUTIONS DRIVERS (PAGE 55)

THE Ashanti Regional Manager of the Road Safety Commission, Mr Kwaku Oware Boateng, has cautioned motorists in the region to abide by traffic regulations.
That, he said, would go a long way to reduce road accidents and preventable deaths that regularly occurs on the major roads in the region.
Cataloguing the spate of accidents in the region, especially during previous elections in the country, Mr Oware- Boateng said the number of vehicular crashes and deaths associated with them, had always been on the ascendancy.
According to him, indications were that, the trend would be the same by the end of December if drivers ignored road safety measures.
Giving statistics to support his claim, Mr Oware-Boateng noted that in 1999, a total of 1,222 accidents occurred in the Ashanti Region claiming as many as 178 lives.
He said the number increased to 1,818 in 2000, which was an election year, claiming a total of 332 lives.
He said in 2003, a year before the 2004 general election, the total number of vehicular accidents recorded in the region was 1,917, with a corresponding death toll of 365 people.
He stated that most of the deceased were in their prime and contributing in diverse ways towards sustainable national development.
Mr Oware-Boateng said during the last general election in 2004, vehicular crashes in the region again rose to an astronomical height of 2,036, killing as many as 577 able bodied Ghanaians.
He stated that, with a few weeks left for the December 7, 2008 general election, fatal accidents that were robbing the country of people contributing immensely towards national development, should be the concern of all and sundry.
Mr Oware-Boateng said the commission had initiated many educational campaigns to sensitise drivers on the need to respect road safety regulations to ensure sanity on the roads but drivers continue to exhibit gross indiscipline, thus risking their lives and that of the passengers .
He urged the media to join hands with his outfit to educate the driving public as the election drew nearer, to prevent fatalities on the roads.
According to him, there was the need for the media to initiate road safety programmes, especially during the rush-hours to complement the efforts of the commission to sensitise drivers to be more cautious in their operations.
“We cannot sit down unconcerned for drivers to kill innocent Ghanaians and maim others for life through accidents,” Mr Oware-Boateng stressed.
He said with the media playing active role in road safety programmes as was done to other issues like politics and sports, drivers would behave responsibly on the roads to make travelling more comfortable and enjoyable.