General News of Saturday, 27 June 2020

Source: GNA

NRSC engages stakeholders on Regulations, 2020

National Road Safety Commission National Road Safety Commission

Mr David Adonten, the National Director for Planning and Programmes at the Road Safety Commission has called on the leadership of political parties to infuse messages of road safety in their political campaigns to avoid crashes during such political seasons.

He noted that party faithful had over the years overlooked safety on the road and used motorbikes and other means of transportation to cause avoidable offenses which were sometimes deadly.

Mr Adonten added that as 2020 was an election year, it would be prudent on the part of party leadership to preach the message of safety at any given opportunity.

The Director of Planning and Programmes was speaking in an interview with the GNA, after a Regional Stakeholders Consultative workshop on the drafting of the Legislative Instrument to regulate road transport operations across the country.

Mr Adonten mentioned that from January to May this year, about 900 lives were lost to motor crashes and therefore urged drivers to be careful on the road especially during rains, where motor crashes were rampant.

He said the L.I would help reduce wrongful placement of Bill boards by assemblies on the road, work with DVLA to check vehicles imbalances among other things.

He stated that road safety continued to be a shared responsibility on the part of all stakeholders including; the Media, Police, Pedestrians, DVLA and driver unions, hence the Consultative workshop to gather their inputs to help frame out a more refined instruments for the sector.

The regulations 2020 will consider road safety initiatives, advertisements, programmes and campaigns, crash and systems of investigation, fund management, audit certificate and approvals and road safety audit fees.

The rest are inspection and compliance notices, road safety standards, registration and licensing of transport operations.