A member of the National Democratic Congress communication team, Abdullah Salifu has called on the government to extend the same serious attention it has given Covid-19 towards the prevention of road accidents.
According to him, from all indications and figures, road accidents killed more Ghanaians in 2020 than Covid-19 did in the same year.
Mr. Salifu said, forcing long vehicle drivers to travel in the day time instead of night, will not help because during the day time the temperature and the busy nature of the roads during the day time are not conducive for many of the buses operating in the north, and so that shouldn’t be one of the remedies to address the accidents on the road.
Instead, he suggested that the leadership of the various lorry stations in the north should collaborate with the leadership of the districts and municipalities they operate in, to pass by-laws that will ensure that all buses traveling long distances have two qualified drivers before leaving the station.
Abdullah Salifu was speaking on the Daybreak Upper East show on A1 Radio in Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region.
In 2019, an accident occurred at Kintampo in the Sunyani-Tamale road in which close to 50 persons from the Garu area died. Some of the suggestions given then were that all long buses traveling from the Upper East Region and the north, in general, should have two drivers at all times.
Unfortunately, this suggestion could not be implemented and was quickly ignored and forgotten and vehicle owners continued operating their vehicles with one driver, to travel from Garu, Bolgatanga, Zebilla, and other cities in the north.
Meanwhile, a Deputy Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party in the Upper East Region, Johnson Ayine on the same programme, dismissed claims that the accidents are occurring due to spiritual manipulations.
According to Mr. Ayine, Ghanaians have been reckless on the road for a long time, and it is time the country takes a decision that will compel road users to use the road according to agreed regulations.
“We all know how far the north is from the south; as human beings, we know that after working for long hours, fatigue will set in, yet vehicle owners insist on using one driver for their buses, just because they want to maintain their profit levels.
We all have to agree as Ghanaians and call on the government to pass laws to regulate all long vehicle operations in the country, whether private or public. People will be sitting in a bus and the driver will be driving recklessly and yet, passengers will be mute. Let us encourage drivers to stop and rest along the journey, it will help us to arrive alive.”
Source: A1Radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Ghana
