Monday, July 7, 2008

Awutu Senya District records 283 accidents

Page 53
07-07-08

TWENTY-six people were killed in motor traffic accidents involving 283 vehicles in the Awutu Senya District between January and June this year.
In addition, 69 others were injured, while 90 drivers were sent to court. A total fine of GH¢19,080 was generated.
The Kasoa District Police Commander, Superintendent Isaac Buabeng, disclosed this at a meeting between the police and commercial drivers at Kasoa in the Central Region last Saturday.
The meeting was to, among other things, provide a platform through which the police and the drivers could collaborate and ensure sanity on the roads.
Supt Buabeng announced that a District Road Safety Committee would be formed to promote road safety activities in the district.
He expressed concern over the recent spate of motor accidents in the country and indicated that 75 per cent of accidents were caused by drivers, while 25 per cent were the result of mechanical faults and bad roads.
He said it was sad that people had to lose their lives prematurely, especially when they were the breadwinners for their families, and appealed to drivers to adhere to road traffic regulations to prevent injuries and fatalities on the road.
Supt Buabeng named some of the causes of accidents as speeding, wrongful overtaking, driving in the wrong lane, poor maintenance of vehicles, overloading, excessive number of passengers and drink driving.
“The lives lost are those of passengers entrusted in your care. Therefore, try to be extra careful when driving,” he said.
He urged drivers to dress well and also advised pedestrians to endeavour to be in white attire whenever they walked along the road at night to ensure that they could easily be spotted by oncoming vehicles.
The Second Trustee of the Central Regional branch of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), Mr Frank Ayi-Quaye, commended the Kasoa Police for providing the opportunity for drivers to interact with them.
He suggested that there should be more of such educative programmes to sensitise drivers to the need for them to drive cautiously.
He said a task force would be inaugurated to regulate the activities of drivers and called on the district assembly to put the lorry park in the area in good shape, since the assembly collected money from drivers.

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