The National Road Safety Commission (NRSC), by next week, is expected to publish Standards for Road Transport Services Operators to promote road safety, Mr Noble Appiah, Executive Director of the Commission announced on Monday.

Implementation of the Standards, which contains safety guidelines, training modules, proper maintenance culture and other best practices, would be supervised by the NRSC.

Mr Appiah announced this when officials from NRSC, transport operators and journalists, paid a working visit to JK Horgle Transport and Company Limited (JKHTCL) in Tema.

JKHTCL is a privately owned Ghanaian petroleum haulage company with more than 400 trucks in its fleet.

He pointed out that any stakeholder in the transport industry who flouts the published safety standards would be sanctioned and license revoked.

Mr Appiah said the visit afforded the opportunity for management of NRSC and other transport operators to acquaint themselves with the activities of JKHTCL, which had served as the model for best road safety practices.

He said the visit formed part of the Commission’s education and outreach programmes aimed at inculcating best road safety practices in the management of fleet of public transport operators.

Mr Joseph Korku Horgle, Chief Executive Officer of the company, told journalists that safety is the hallmark to the success of their operations.

He stressed that JKHTCL had invested in safety and contributed towards the reduction in road crashes and other mishaps in their activities.

Mr Horgle said in addition to training programmes, the company has state-of-the-art equipment and technology that support safe practices.

The facility of JKHTCL is equipped with a Power Track-Vehicle Management System that communicates, minute by minute, (real time) with the engineers at the office, on the activities of drivers on the field.

The technology that employs Global Positioning System, a space-based satellite navigation system, is said to effectively track the location and time information of all the company’s tracks on the field.

It is also equipped with trip replays, live trackings, alarm signals and other information that show when drivers used unauthorised routes, exceeded the company’s laid-down speed limit of 65 kilometres per hour, employed aggressive driving tactics and harsh breaks or engaged in excessive maneuvering.

Mr Horgle said each truck of the company is fitted with sensors that could be remotely controlled and in some cases detect careless driving.

He added that JKHTCL recruited their drivers based on keenly contested practical and theoretic examination.

Mr Horgle said the company carries out periodic training to ensure that the employed drivers maintain high professional output.

Other forms of best practices employed by the company include Consequence Management Matrix, a form of compliance and enforcement code, Driver Performance League, to motivate the drivers to give off their best and Potential Incidence Reporting, to prevent and reduce road crashes.

Mr Horgle said JKHTCL has a team responsible for receiving and acting on reports of activities of drivers who do not follow the company’s code for best practices, explaining that the team keeps a vigilant eye on all members of staff.

He called on motorists and other road users to drive safely during and after the yuletide.