A total of 242 people have died through 591 road accidents recorded from January to September this year in the Bono, Bono East and Ahafo Regions, Mr Kwasi Agyenim-Boateng, the Acting Regional Head of the NRSA has said.

He said the Authority was worried there had been a relative increase in the accident cases as compared to last year, and appealed to the media to use their networks to upscale driver education on road safety to reverse the trend.

Speaking at a road safety education campaign held at the Nana Bosoma central market in the Sunyani Municipality, Mr Agyenim-Boateng said motorcycle crashes and pedestrian knockdowns were also recording disturbing figures in the three regions.

Organised by the NRSA, the campaign was aimed at sensitizing the commercial drivers on the new NRSA Act, and action plan put together by the Regional office of the Authority for intensified road safety education.

Mr Agyenim-Boateng explained the NRSA had teamed up with the media to scale-up its “Arrive Alive” mass media campaign in the three regions, saying the Authority had already educated 4,344 drivers and 43,560 at 136 lorry terminals across the regions on road safety.

A total of 668 motorcycle/tricycle riders spread in 27 communities in the three regions have also benefited from similar education.

While appreciating the support of key stakeholders such as the Driver Vehicle and Licensing Authority (DVLA), Police Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD), National Insurance Commission (NIC), National Ambulance Service (NAS), Ghana Red Cross Society (GRCS), Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) and various transport unions, Mr Agyenim-Boateng appealed to drivers, passengers and all road users to adhere to road safety regulations to reduce recurring crashes.

Representatives from the MTTD, GNFS, NAS, DVLA and GRCS took turns to sensitize the drivers on their mandates.