The Upper East branch of the Road Safety Commission (NRSC) on Thursday called on Transport Officers in both government and private organizations to ensure regular maintenance of all their vehicles especially, the lights and breaks.

Mr. Mohammed Atilado, Regional Manager, NRSC, told the Transport Officers drawn from the region at a meeting in Bolgatanga that before the vehicles are put on the road they should be equipped with warning triangles and first aid boxes among others, to ensure safety on the road.

He urged the officers to ensure that the drivers have enough rest before driving and also ensure that retro reflective tapes are properly fixed on vehicles weighing 3.5 tonnes and above.

They should also make sure that log books are properly filled and checked to ensure speed regulations.

He said the ideal situation would be to have qualified drivers, with every journey well planned and asked the officers to make that part of their regulations.

The meeting attracted Transport officers from various transport organizations including the GPRTU, State Transport Corporation, Metro Mass, O A Transport, VIP Transport and some government departments.

The Officers deliberated on some safety concerns in the region, focusing on driver training, appointment of road safety officers, use of retro reflective tapes and coordination with transport agencies to ensure good results in road safety.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency after the meeting, Mr. Atilado said the rate at which road crashes were occurring was rather too high and everybody had to contribute towards ensuring safety on the roads.

He said on the average road crashes were responsible for about 1800 deaths in the country.

He said Ghana had adopted the UN declaration of the ‘Decade of Action for Road Safety’, 2011-2020, which seeks to prevent deaths and injuries on the road.**