The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), Alhaji Ibrahim Abass Moro, has admitted human error is a cause of road accidents, however, argues there are a lot of other leading factors.
According to him, the nature of roads, their accessories and passengers influence road accidents largely.
Although it is true the poor service culture of commercial transport operators causes road accidents, he notes some mechanical faults caused by the poor state of roads can equally influence road carnages. “Some drivers are well aware of the mechanical problems of their cars but still ply the roads with faulty vehicles, postponing repairs and that is human error. At times, unexpected mechanical faults in cars also occur. For example, the potholes on the road can cause one tire to burst, leading to an accident.”
Alhaji Ibrahim Abass Moro also pointed out that some roads in the country have faded or no road markings and warning signs to alert drivers of impending danger. “A driver who does not frequent the Mankesim-Takoradi highway will not know there are road humps ahead and slow down when approaching them. It will be late for them and cause road accidents because there are no road signs on the road.”
During the Happy Development Dialogues hosted by Happy98.9FM’s Don Kwabena Prah on the topic; ‘Road Safety: A Stakeholders Dialogue on Ensuring Safety on Our Roads’,
He proceeded to clarify that commercial drivers are not the major cause of road accidents. “Commercial vehicles do not lead in road accidents statistics in the country but private vehicles lead in this statistics. Although commercial vehicles are barely involved in road accidents, it records high death rates as compared to private vehicles which are mostly involved in road accidents.”
The public transport owner advised policymakers to create police checkpoints along the major highways to check speed limits. “This and proper street lightening can go a long way to reduce road accidents.”
Global Media Alliance Broadcasting Company (GMABC) has dedicated the months of November and December to share educative and informative discussions on all issues that focus on road safety and automobiles. The campaign has Donewell Insurance as the main partner with supporting partners as CFAO Motors Ghana Ltd., Loyalty Insurance and Johanni Auto Cool Ltd. And Ghanaweb as a media partner.
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