Mrs. Cynthia Kwarteng Tufuor, SIC Insurance PLC Area Manager has urged the Ghanaian populace to check the insurance status of commercial vehicles before boarding them as some vehicles failed to properly insure their vehicles.

According to Mrs. Tufuor, checking the status of vehicles before boarding them is also a means of protecting and preserving one’s life and family from uncomfortable situations that comes with fatal accidents.

“It is equally the responsibility of the passenger to board a vehicle in good condition with an active insurance policy; So that in case of any accident, you will receive adequate compensation. Passengers must place high premium on their life.”
Mrs Cynthia Kwarteng Tufuor

Mrs. Tufuor advised the public to check the insurance status of commercial vehicles through the shortcode 92057#. She emphasized the need for checking the validity of vehicle insurance as “no insurance company would pay compensation on an expired policy in case of an accident”.

Mrs Tufuor made this known at a Road Safety Campaign platform in Tema. The Campaign Initiated by the Tema Regional Motor Transport and Traffic Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service seeks to actively create consistent and systematic weekly awareness advocacy on the need to be cautious on the road as a user. It also seeks to educate all road users on their respective responsibilities, and sensitize drivers, especially on the tenets of road safety regulations.

Insurance Companies to Join the Campaign

Mrs Tufuor called on insurance companies to join the road safety campaign, stressing that even though it might seem the incentives for insurers to prevent road crashes primarily come from their liability to pay for claims relating to road crashes, the societal benefits were greater since many lives would be saved.

Mrs. Tufuor noted that most of the road accidents across the country are caused by men. As such, she urged “commercial vehicles passengers, to physically examine the vehicle, let’s try and avoid worn-out vehicle.” .

Ghana is among the African countries grappling with road traffic crashes. Fatal road injury is one of the top 10 causes of death in Ghana, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Last year, Ghana reported 240 road traffic crashes across regions. The Greater Accra and Eastern regions registered the highest number of crashes. Moreover, since 2018, road traffic accidents in the country have followed an increasing trend.

However, a cursory look at the available data indicated that Ghana recorded a 16 percent reduction in road crash fatalities from January to August 2022 as against the same period in 2021, the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) said. In addition, other important safety indicators improved too.

That notwithstanding, it is important to mobilize key personalities through the road safety campaign as a channel to educate passengers and drivers to reduce the number of road fatalities in the country.