Despite the crucial roles that speed ramps play in the enforcement of speed limits and the prevention over speeding of vehicles, the speed ramps at the Doba Community portion of the Bolgatanga-Navrongo Highway cannot be said to be serving this purpose.
The state of the speed ramps at Doba in the Kassena-Nankana Municipality in the Upper East Region is rather contributing to incidents that lead to road accidents in the community.
In view of that, community members are calling on relevant authorities to come to their aids by reconstructing these speed ramps or remove them from the highway so that community members wouldn’t have to depend on the speed ramps to prevent road accidents in the Doba community.
Speaking to A1Radio, the community members explained that every week they record not less than three accidents on the road which usually involve a community member and if authorities fail to work as soon as possible, they (Doba Community members) will boycott voting in the 2020 election.
” …just last week we lost a 12 years old girl and her dog. They were sitting at the back of their house when a taxi driver in his quest to dodge a speed ramp suddenly lost control and run over them (this girl and her dog).” Atia Emmanuel, a community member explained.
Mr. Atia further stressed that, from Doba Junior High School to Nayagenia Junior High School, there are 9 speed ramps and all have deteriorated into death traps to the community members and other road users due to their terrible nature.
” These particular ones are indeed most dangerous and each week we record not less than three accidents simply because the iron rod used in constructing these speed ramps have either been exposed or removed from concrete and are hanging dangerously. Anytime a driver mistakenly passes on such a rod, the end results are normally bad.” He explained.
Meanwhile Assemblyman of the Doba Electoral Area, Hilbert Atindana, upon admitting the claims, said the issue has been raised at the Assembly level and countless number of letters have written to the Ghana Highway Authority but they have not had a respond.
He however noted that whatever suggestions the community members will be taking will be refreshing to follow, as his efforts have been fruitless.
When A1Radio contacted the Regional Manager of the Ghana Highway Authority off-air, he explained that he has not been authorized by the National level to speak on the issue, hence will not respond to the claims made by the community members.
Source: A1radioonline.com | Moses Apiah | Ghana
