The National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) in collaboration with Access Bank on Friday organised a quiz competition on road safety for students of Kanda Cluster of schools in Accra.

The quiz competition, which was part of activities to launch the Access Bank Road Safety campaign, aimed at focusing the safety of young children on the road.

It was also part of efforts by the employee volunteering group of the Bank to support the growth and development of the youth and to protect the lives of children by reducing the killings on the roads.

Mr Emmanuel Opare, Deputy Director of Basic Education Division at the Ministry of Education, said in Ghana the age group of 0 to 15 constitute 25 per cent of the total fatalities on the average of 2,000 annually, adding that a majority of these children are killed at pedestrians while crossing the road.

“Such fatalities are painful reminders of the constant danger that exists on our roads. We must therefore press on with our efforts to make our roads safer,” he said.

Mr Opare said road safety education must begin at the early stage to introduce good road use habits in the young.

He noted that it is important for children to learn the signs of road safety well even though it is simple, “this is especially important as young children may not be good users of the road because they are small, motorists may not see them”.

He said the NRSC and the Ghana Education Service have developed and produced road safety textbooks and teacher manuals for basic schools, and teachers are also being provided with a comprehensive package of road safety materials.

The Deputy Director urged all basic schools to highlight correct road safety behaviour during assembly at the beginning of each year and use teachable moments to remind pupils during the course of the year.

Nana Adu Kyeremateng, a member of Employee Volunteering Group Access Bank, said the aim of the collaboration with the Commission was to raise awareness and create road safety ambassadors to start a culture where both drivers and pedestrian are extra cautious on the road.

He said his group is saddened by the fact that many children of school are easily exposed to the threats and dangers on the roads, “many children have lost their lives through fatal accidents when they were either on their way or returning from school”.

Mrs Doris Owusu, Headmistress, said the school used to record 10 deaths yearly due to fatal accidents, so parents were afraid to bring their children to school.

Access Bank renovated a computer laboratory fitted with 25 new computers to the school, and the winners of the quiz competition were also awarded prizes.