Recently, a bus carrying 45 passengers heading towards the Upper East region got involved in a gory accident. About 10 lives were lost. It could have been me or you. An eye-witness account indicates that the driver allegedly slept off – which is natural.
However, the biggest question is, why do these drivers still engage in such avoidable acts? The simple answer is that we (citizens and stakeholders) are not taking this issue seriously.
When do we want to act? Just are the Nurse, Doctor, Teacher, Lawyer, Pastor, Trader, Engineer etc are important, I see a driver as equally a critical worker the country should not toy with.
Why so?
A bus usually contains all these workers aforementioned. Their safety is always entrusted into the hands of the driver to send them to their designations. However, most individuals’ lives are terminated whilst journeying – sad!
I expect our stakeholders to put in strong measures to curb this menace, else we all will fall victims one day. I proffer the following:
- Each vehicle should have 2 drivers
It is time we demand that every vehicle provides two drivers for long-distance journey. This should be mandatory for all transport operators.
The inordinate quest for instance wealth forces some transport owners to use one driver for long-journey. What will it profit a man to gain wealth and loses precious lives of fellow countrymen?
- Drivers should have dress codes
The way you dress gives you a sense of identity, and worth. The dressing instills in the driver discipline and helps the passenger to know who he/she is dealing with. They should be given name tag and rank. A driver’s mate should be identified as such.
- Ban long-distance travels for transport companies which cannot meet rule number 2
An order should be made by authorities that be to restrain companies from embarking on any long journey should they fail to meet rule number two. I have observed that most accidents do occur at night and enforcing such rules would curtail this menace.
4. Give drivers military training
Drivers and indeed Ghanaians need military training. Adequate training/keep-fit raises one’s alertness level.
Hence, as part of awarding license, such should be factored in. Keep fit clubs should be established in various towns for drivers to achieve this goal. It does not only save the life of passengers but also prolongs that of the driver.
- Passenger task force
Passenger task force should be set up during each journey to strictly monitor negative behaviours of drivers and report same to necessary authorities. Positive attitudes of drivers should equally be rewarded to promote such.
Death is a necessary end. However, an avoidable death, a barbaric death, an untimely death is an unnecessary end.
I can, you can and we can change the status quo. The time to act is now. Shalom!
Source: A1Radioonline.com|Jonas Azurago
