Accra, Jan. 30, GNA - A regulation to ban motorists from the use of mobile phones while driving has been placed before Cabinet for study and approval.

When approved the Police would be empowered to exact spot fines and other penalties spelt under the regulation on offending motorists. Briefing the press in Accra ahead of the Fourth African Road Safety Conference to be held in Accra next week, Mr John Osei-Asamoah, Chief Director, Ministry of Transportation, said the use of mobile phones while driving reduced the attention of the driver and often led to accidents.

Ghana is hosting the conference from February 5 to February 7 2007 to review progress made by countries on the Continent to improve road safety and also reduce the carnage on the roads.

About 200 stakeholders and 25 Ministers of Transport, Health and The Interior from Africa would attend the three-day conference, which would also seek to advance the development of national action plans for road safety for countries in the region and plan the implementation of recommendations of the World Report on Traffic Injury Prevention and the African Road Safety Initiative.

Mr Osei-Asamoah said most motorists usually did not adhere to the simple safety rule of stopping their vehicle to make and receive calls hence the need to punish offenders to serve as deterrent to other road users.

He said the conference would create a platform to identify innovative ways of mobilising resources to progressively reduce and prevent road traffic accidents and to advance the development of national strategies and action plans.

Mr Osei-Asamoah said Ghana had over the years evolved various measures to reduce accident through the strengthening of the National Road Safety Commission and the enforcement agencies to enable them to perform their duties in line with the best practices in the world. Some of the plans adopted are education of motorists and pedestrians. Currently efforts are underway in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service to include road safety in the curriculum at the basic and secondary school levels as well as in teacher training colleges.

On the theme of the conference "Road Safety and the Millennium Development Goals: Reducing the Rate of African Fatalities by half by 2015," Mr Osei-Asamaoh said it reflected the urgent need for African countries to develop and implement creative and innovative measures to tackle the rise in road traffic accidents in order to meet the poverty reduction targets in the Millennium Development Goals. He urged all road users to be responsible since their action or inaction could contribute to road traffic accident.