Preventing road accidents: Ghana needs to enforced the laws rigorously (III).

Law enforcement is crucial to good governance. Ghana needs to enforced the laws rigorously in order to prevent the many road accidents not just give incentives to good drivers. In the absence of laws the people as well as the economy of the nation suffer badly.

The Upper West Region this year recorded only one road accident from December 25 to January 3, 2006 making it the first time it recorded such a limited number of accidents during the yuletide. Apart from a private vehicle that had an accident at Nyoli near Wa on December 28 in which one person died, the regional Motor Traffic and Transport Unit did not record register any other accident (GNA Jan 06, 2006).

? Six accidents were recorded by the Police Motor Traffic and Transport Union (MTTU) within the Ho Municipality during the Christmas and New Year festivities. Mr. Simon Atese from Ziope near Kpetoe died in one of the accidents, at the Ho Housing junction on January 2. Five other persons received injuries in five other accidents during the period (GNA. Jan.3, 2006)

? According to Mr. Arthur of The Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU), Takoradi recorded 748 accidents in 2004 while 581 were reported in 2005.

There is some good news though. Of all the 10 regions in Ghana it was only Upper East Region which did not record any accidents during the just ended Christmas and New Year period. The report said, For the first time in many years, the Upper East Region did not record any accidents during the just ended Christmas and New Year period (GNA. Jan 09, 2006).

The Hohoe Divisional Police Command in the Volta Region(Vakpo in the Kpando District to Kete-Krachi in the Krachi-West District) alone recorded a total of 112 motor traffic offences in 2005 (GNA. March 22, 2006). 147 cases were recorded with 115 vehicles involved. 12 persons were killed and 157 injured and attributed the accidents to reckless driving, inexperience, over speeding, wrong overtaking, drunkenness and impatience among others.

According to the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mr. Michael Tattah, 86 out of the 108 cases sent to the courts upon the advice of the Attorney General's Department raked in fines totalling 21.3 million cedis. He said 17 other cases were awaiting trial while others have been disposed off or issued with warning letters to be of good behaviour on the roads. Mere letters of good behaviour would not help Ghana to fight this canker. More fines and punitive measures must be instituted by government.

The Western Regional Secretariat of the National Road Safety Commission had this to say when embarking on road safety campaign (notably traffic education), ?the Commission would organise drivers' awards day in April this year to reward the best driver, well dressed driver and best accident free driver? (GNA March 16, 2006). What is the relationship between clothing and reckless driving? How can Ghana solve this road accident problem with incentives to drivers? Ghana needs to introduce tougher laws instead and save the incentives towards road maintenance.

The National Road Safety Commission coordinator also advised drivers not to speed more than 50 kilometres per hour in town and about 30 kilometres per hour in densely populated areas to prevent accidents. Drivers were advised that some accident prone areas where pedestrians were knocked down frequently in Sekondi-Takoradi were Adiembra Junction-Kweikuma road, Kwesimintsim Roundabout-Assorko Essaman road and Axim road. Where are the laws and government policies to curb this mess?

Law Enforcement Not Incentives Please

Among other things the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) need to consider having a tow service to tow the abandoned vehicles which are causing congestion and obstruction thereby posing hazard to both motorists and pedestrians on the busy roads. Or the government should give incentives to individual Ghanaians to invest in this area to ease the congestion caused by abandoned vehicles on our narrow roads.

Encourage and support the Ghana Red Cross Society to established Emergency First Aid Centres at some locations along the highways to ensure prompt and efficient attention to road accident victims.

? According to General News the Government has given approval for a World Bank funded Road Sector Development Project for the automation of vehicle registration and the issuance of new driving licenses nationwide, beginning this year (GNA. March 5, 2006)The report said Driver Vehicle and Licensing Authority (DVLA) would from August introduce driver's license in the form of durable cards with in-built security safeguards to replace those issued in 2000. While this is good DVLA must make sure funds made available for the computerization are used accordingly. This will go a long way to record violations on time and avoid connection men who may want to destroy files for a fee.