Better to be late than to be called ‘the Late’: Accra mayor implores drivers

General news for Wednesday, November 18, 2020

Source: rainbowradioonline.com

2020-11-18

Accra Mayor Mohammed Adjei Sowah has warned motorists to obey speed limits and traffic regulations to ensure an accident-free Christmas season and beyond.

The mayor who said this at an event held at Accra City Hall to mark this year’s World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims under the slogan: “Remember! Support for! and Act !, urged drivers and motorcyclists to be patient when driving and slow down to avoid accidents on the road.

World Road Traffic Victims Remembrance Day (WDR) is a day adopted by the United Nations on October 26, 2005 and commemorated on the third Sunday of November each year to remember the millions of lives lost or injured from accidents. transit around the world.

“The holiday season is fast approaching and having experienced a traffic accident many years ago with a motorcycle, I would like to take this opportunity to advise motorcyclists to ride safely, follow the speed limit and observe the rules of the road. Drivers of bus, trotro, taxi, Uber, private car and all categories of drivers, please be patient when driving and slow down to avoid collisions on the road. Know that it’s better to be late to your destination than to never show up and be called ‘The Late,’ ”he said.

It revealed that 1,585 people lost their lives in traffic accidents in the country from January to August of this year and expressed solidarity with the victims who had suffered physical, emotional and psychological trauma as a result of their participation in a traffic accident or lost a to be loved.

He said that road accidents tear families and communities apart and urged stakeholders to do more to end accidents, adding that these losses of life are largely preventable.

He emphasized necessary interventions such as designing safer infrastructure and incorporating road safety features into transportation and land use planning, improving vehicle safety features, improving post-accident care for victims. of traffic accidents, establish and enforce laws related to key risks, and raise public awareness, among others, to help prevent traffic accidents.

He mentioned that since 2015, the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) in partnership with the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS) had increased efforts to improve road safety in the City, some of which, he said, include the data acquisition to inform interventions. , redesign of the unsafe parts of the roads to protect all road users, especially pedestrians, continuous implementation carried out in collaboration with the MTTD police, mini-campaigns and media campaigns.

“A typical example is the collaborative efforts of the engineering fields, data, and monitoring and compliance components of the BIGRS project supported by the support of road safety stakeholder organizations and the National Highway Safety Authority, which collectively pushed a media campaign carried out during the latter part of last year. This campaign has seen speeding reductions in Accra from 77% before the campaign started in 2019 to 62% in 2020. This is according to the latest round of observational studies conducted by the Johns Hopkins International Injury Research Unit. “, said.

The Minister of Transport, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, in a speech read on his behalf, stressed that the act of indiscipline and reckless attitude of some drivers and pedestrians contributed to the carnage on the roads.

“Investigations into recent past traffic accidents revealed that they were caused by speeding, improper overtaking, fatigued driving, driving under the influence of alcohol, reckless walking and failure to comply with safety regulations, among others.” , said.

He announced that the National Highway Safety Authority and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority had been ordered to develop modalities for the full implementation of the installation of speed limiters in all intercity commercial vehicles, Pre-departure checks at the terminals of trucks, Passenger manifest, Mandatory update training for all drivers of commercial vehicles in accordance with Regulations 33 and 125 of the Road Traffic Regulations, 2012 (LI 2180).

In g. May Obiri Yeboah, general director of the National Highway Safety Authority (NRSA), said that the day should serve to generate greater political commitments that reduce crashes to reduce the effects on society.

He announced that the NRSC was running an Arrive Alive campaign aimed at influencing the positive behavior of road users and eliminating the laxity of policy makers in the road sector.