Mr John Tetteh, First Trustee, Neoplan Drivers Association of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union, said most road accidents, claiming innocent lives, could be avoided if transport owners used quality and original spare parts to fix vehicles.

He said substandard car spare parts had flooded the Ghanaian market which posed a danger to people who bought them to fix faulty cars, thereby worsening the already bad condition of those cars.

It was best to have the car properly repaired with quality replacement parts to save time, money and prevent needless road accidents, Mr Tetteh told the Ghana News Agency in an interview on Friday.

He noted that the problems of vehicles often resurface when components were replaced with relatively inferior parts, though they might cost a lot less.

Mr Tetteh said ultimately, one would end up spending more money for additional repairs or, possibly, for an entirely new vehicle if the inferior replaced parts somehow led to irreparable damage.

He said if one purchased higher quality replacement parts, one would have greater assurance that the vehicle would function properly, despite having to spend a little more money.

Mr Tetteh said rather than focusing on this as a financial loss, it was best for transport owners to consider it as an investment for which they would reap positive returns.

He called on drivers to update and upgrade their skills to cope with modern trends in transport operation, saying “we are now in a global village so drivers and owners must improve their skills in the transport business to meet modern demands”.

He appealed to the government to consider reducing duties on car spare parts so that the cost could also come down to an appreciable level.

While commending the government for making gains in road infrastructure, Mr. Tetteh called on it to fix the Apedwa-Nsawam road and other major roads to facilitate transportation and business and reduce road accidents.

He asked government to take steps to revamp defunct tyre factories in the country to manufacture genuine tyres at moderate prices for transport owners.