Aimed at raising awareness on road safety, the campaign which was held over the weekend, was under the theme: ‘’ Road safety, a shared responsibility’’.
Mr Ellis Hugh-Tamakloe, the Director of Monitoring and Evaluation at the MoT, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said the nation has recorded various road crashes which has resulted in the loss of many lives.
He said the rise in such road crashes was often attributed to recklessness and negligence on the part of some drivers, passengers and pedestrians.
Mr Hugh-Tamakloe said until the public adheres to road safety guidelines, road crashes would continue to rob the nation of many lives.
He said the Ministry would continue in its efforts to reduce road crashes saying we have rolled out various vehicle inspection programmes, through our road readiness project, to identify and eliminate all vehicles that are technically unfit to ply our roads.
“The Ministry is working with the police and the DVLA to ensure that drivers conform to road regulations”, Mr Hugh-Tamakloe said.
Mr David Osafo Adonteng, the Director of Planning of the NRSC, said the Commission would continue its partnership with the MoT to combat road accidents especially in this elections period.
He said many accidents occur during such periods as various political campaigns are mounted and the recklessness of some political activists surge.
Mr Adonteng called on politicians to ensure that participants of their political activities adhered to road regulatory frameworks to help safeguard lives.
These are the people who are going to vote for you, so there is the need to use such platforms to raise awareness on road safety expectations” he said.
The campaign was supported by Road Sense Organisation, DVLA, Ghana National Association of Driving Schools and the National Ambulance Service.
A new Road Safety Information Centre was inaugurated at the Tema Station in Accra.
Reverend Amankwah Addo Erasmus, the President of the Ghana National Association of Driving Schools, said the Centre would serve as a complaints unit where passengers would report any misconduct displayed by drivers.
Some messages borne by placards of the ‘safety campaign walk’ included: “Don’t drink and drive”, “Use your head, Don’t lose your head”, “Be safe, cross the road at safe crossing points”, “ Always ride with a crash helmet” and “ Avoid swerving potholes”.
Source: GNA/NewsGhana.com.gh
