ACCIDENTS CLAIM 53 LIVES (MIRROR, PAGE 21, MAY 8, 2010)

Story: George Ernest Asare, Kumasi

Fifty-three passengers, including 25 females, lost their lives through fatal accidents in the Ashanti Region between January and March this year while 535 others suffered various degrees of injuries.
As many as 74 pedestrians were also knocked down by vehicles in the region between January and March this year, creating a state of insecurity for pedestrians.
This is against figures for the same period of last year, which witnessed the death of 75 passengers and an injury toll of 403.
The Ashanti Regional Police Commander of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU), Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Abraham Bansah, who briefed The Mirror about the spate of accidents in the region, said the reduction in the number of deaths through accident could be attributed to the enforcement of road traffic regulation, making it possible for the MTTU to arrest and prosecute recalcitrant drivers.
He said 498 vehicles, including 160 private cars and 22 motor cycles, were involved in accidents in the Ashanti Region between January and March this year.
Last year, the number of vehicles recorded to have been involved in accidents in the region were 576.
Mr Bansah said apart from strengthening their patrols on the highways, they had also mounted series of checks, especially in the urban centres, as a way of arresting and prosecuting motorists who flout road traffic regulations.
He mentioned drink driving, wrong over-taking, speeding on highways, loading above the stipulated height, over-loading of passengers, insecure loading, using worn-out tyres, driving vehicles with faulty brakes, expired driving licence, expired road worthy certificate and loading above the requisite axle weight as some of the offences the MTTU would be checking on the road.
He said apart from the highway checks, the MTTU, in collaboration with the National Road Safety Commission and the Drivers, Vehicles and Licence Authority (DVLA), had also been using radio talk shows as a form of educating the driving public to enable them to observe road safety regulations.
He pointed out that with that platform, they were also able to reach out to passengers to educate them on the need to check drivers who drove above the stipulated 80-kilometre per hour on the highways.