Potential drivers seeking driving licence would be required to pass a written examination to secure a licence from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA).

Mr. Joe Osei-Owusu, Chief Executive Officer of DVLA, who said this at the annual lecture of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) in Accra yesterday, said the exercise would begin at the end of June as part of efforts to reduce road traffic accidents.

This year's lecture is on the theme: "Carnage On The Roads - Impact On The Health Of The Nation". It seeks to address the serious concerns of deaths; maiming and cost associated with road traffic accidents.

Mr. Osei-Owusu said the written examinations would begin in the Greater Accra, Eastern, Western, Central and Volta Regions. He said vehicles were issued with road worthy certificates although no test had been conducted on them because of inadequate staffing at DVLA. He said the DVLA received about 700 applications for vehicle examination and road worthy certificates daily.

Mr. Osei-Owusu said the DVLA would soon contract the private sector to undertake the inspection of vehicles under the supervision of the DVLA, which is facing a host of problems including lack of equipment. He said it was sad that very little resources was committed to the training of drivers, who had the responsibility of carrying large number of people to safety at a time.

Mr.Charles Rhabbles,Principal Engineer of the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA), said there was the need for the country to adopt the safety audit technique in road construction since the technique majored in preventive strategies. He explained that the safety audit depended on examining the type of road users, their behaviours and features before a road is constructed.