The National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) has disclosed that a total number of 6,692 people have been victims of road accident between January and April this year.
Breaking the figures down, the Director-General of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), May Obiri Yeboah, indicated that the road accidents resulted in 1,034 deaths and a total of 5,658 injuries across the country.
“We have reached a tipping point where neither platitudes nor half-hearted measures can save the situation. And we must accept the reality for what it is. We must accept that road traffic crashes and deaths have become both a national tragedy;and indeed,;a matter of international concern.”
May Obiri Yeboah
She also revealed that between January and April this year,; 387 pedestrians had been knocked down, resulting in 97 deaths, in the Greater Accra Region.
“Research has shown that a pedestrian has 90 per cent chance of surviving a crash;at 30km per an hour or lower and has almost no chance of surviving an impact at 80km per an hour.”
May Obiri Yeboah
Mrs Yeboah said this when she paid a courtesy call on Madam Justina Owusu-Banahene,;the Bono Regional Minister, as part of her two-day inspection visit to the region.
She averred that the NRSA has issued regulatory directives to road transport operators;to incorporate best safety mechanisms into their operations. Also
NRSA to pass Legislative instrument
The General Director further revealed that, the NRSA is speeding up processes,; including stakeholder consultations, for the passage of a new Legislative Instrument (L. I.), to operationalize the provisions of Act 993.
Under the new Act, Act 2019, (Act 993) the NRSA is mandated to issue compliance notices to institutions or organizations that breach road safety standards and procedures in the construction of roads.
When passed, the L.I. would give NRSA the mandate to regulate the road transport sector and ensure lives are saved. Also
Mrs. Yeboah indicated the government was much concerned about uncontrolled fatalities on the road. She said as a result, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has set up a Ministerial Committee to ensure that road safety regulations were implemented to the latter.
She said it required concerted and decisive approaches to tackle road crashes and appealed for support from stakeholders to prevent needless deaths on the road.
Also speaking, the Bono Regional Minister, Justina Owusu-Banahane acknowledged the important role of the NRSA and called on the Authority to intensify road safety education and also ensure the public education was translated into the nation’s local languages as well.
She further emphasized the enormous consequences of road accidents on the country and called for effective collaboration between road sector agencies. This, she noted, include the NRSA and other key stakeholders for intensified education and enforcement of road safety regulations.
The NRSA director was accompanied by Mr Kwame Koduah Atuahene,;the Head of Regulations,;Inspections and Complaints Department of the NRSA and key staff of the Authority.
