Ghana’s favorite radio station, Happy 98.9FM has taken pride in sensitizing Ghanaian drivers on the importance of adhering to the utmost standards of safety on our roads ahead of the festive season.
With the open secret of road accidents being at its peak during festive seasons, the campaign themed ‘Ghana Drivers Summit’ sought to address the concerns of road users as well as educate them on the importance of respecting road safety regulations during and after festive seasons.
The ‘Ghana Drivers Summit’ organized by Happy 98.9 FM was not organized in isolation but was in line with the 2019 Road Safety Christmas Campaign by the National Road Safety Commission Authority (NRSA) dubbed “Stop Road Accidents Now, Before it stops You”. This campaign is aimed at reducing the risk to road traffic crashes and casualties often associated with the festive season.
Happy FM in collaboration with the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), Motor Transport and Traffic Directorate (MTTD) and the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) enlightened and addressed the concerns of loyal listeners and road users with the dos and don’ts of road safety during the festive season.
Speaking on behalf of the MTTD, Chief Superintendent Agnes Caesar mentioned to drivers that road safety is a shared responsibility. She encouraged drivers and other road users to aid the MTTD in achieving its mandate of ensuring safety on the roads throughout the year. “The Police cannot be everywhere at the same time. As drivers, you should also make sure you keep your colleagues accountable and stop turning a blind eye to their actions and inactions that may cause road accidents and endanger the lives of passengers. When you see a fellow driver driving recklessly, help us (MTTD) by reporting the fellow. This will aid us drastically in our work and also save tons of lives in the process”, she said.
Some concerned drivers also joined the conversation and vocally accused some officers of the MTTD for being a major factor in the ever increasing rates of accidents on our roads. A driver who identified himself as Richard Odoi expressed his dissatisfaction at some MTTD officers who take ‘tokens’ from drivers who openly disrespect road traffic regulations. He went on to plead with officers involved in the act to desist from it and rather focus on making sure such drivers are penalized to deter others from following suit.
ACP retired Victor Tandoh, a fore runner in the road safety campaign in Ghana also took time to explain to drivers the meaning of the traffic lights on our roads. “The red light has always meant stop but the yellow or amber is not get ready to go or stop as some drivers think. When you see the yellow light, don’t speed up because you want to dodge the red light. Seeing the yellow is an indication for you to stop completely and move only if the road is clear when the green light comes on”, he said. He further went on to commend the GPRTU for instilling discipline in their drivers which has led to a reduction of reported accidents involving commercial vehicles over the past two years, but however. chastised private car owners who seemingly disregard road safety regulations and have seen a rise in recorded road accidents. The agile ACP Retired Victor Tandoh appealed to the MTTD and Road Safety Authority to keep a keen eye on private car owners.
The NRSA represented by Reverend Charles Kofi Nti addressed the issue of billboards and erected structures obstructing the views of drivers using our highways. According to Osofo the NRSA is working with the Advertisers Association of Ghana (AAG) to make sure that billboards are positioned properly out of the driving site of drivers. He made known that some of these billboards sometimes creates blind spots for drivers causing them to crash into cars in front of them or parked along the shoulders of the road. “The saddest part is, sometimes these cars don’t crash into other vehicles but into unsuspecting pedestrians killing them instantly. Currently, we are working to remove all huge billboards erected along our roads which creates blind spots for our drivers.”
Participating through Happy 98.9 FM’s live Facebook stream, Sampson Quaye in Amanokrom Akwapim showed immense concern about the use of video screens in cars in recent times. He said “It is alarming the number of cars which have televisions and other viewing screens in them. Now taxis and some private cars have fitted screens in their rear view mirrors and dashboards. This is absolutely dangerous. The mirror meant for viewing the unseen behind you and ensuring safety has now become a TV screen for entertainment which is wrong.” He pleaded with the MTTD and NRSA to crackdown on drivers with rearview mirrors doubling as video screens. The MTTD disclosed that it is illegal to have any type of screen in a vehicle and promised to tackle any and all such offenses.
Speaking at the end of the summit, Programmes Manager for Happy 98.9FM, Mr. Emmanuel Akrumah indicated that the Drivers Summit was not going to be a pre festive event. “The Ghana Drivers Summit is not going to run during festive seasons only. We, at Happy FM will work closely with the MTTD and the NRSA to ensure sanity on our roads. As the fourth estate of the Government, we will do all in our power to ensure our roads are safe for our friends, families and colleagues. This will not be only an accident free Christmas but the start of a new era where we will experience minimal road accidents which are not severe either”, he said.
Having the last words, the GPRTU applauded its drivers for adhering to safety standards on roads and urged them to be extra vigilant this festive season. The Welfare Secretary of the GPRTU, Alhaji Kassim Alhassan said, “Accidents are mostly caused by third parties. Please be extra careful when driving to enable us achieve the accident free agenda this Christmas. Normal speed meets every need.”
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