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NRSC stresses the need to observe
traffic regulations
Takoradi, July 7, GNA- Ghanaians have been reminded of the
need to strictly observe road signs and traffic regulations
to reduce road accidents which has become a major societal
problem.
Mr. Noble Y. Appiah, Executive Director of the National Road
Safety Commission (NRSC) who gave the advise, said people
should use the road safety week cerebrations to reflect on
how best both they could help reduce road accidents.
At a press briefing to mark the road safety week in Takoradi
on Friday, Mr Appiah said "It meant a lot to a developing
nation like ours to lose able-bodied men and women on whose
shoulders the future of the country depends through
avoidable motor accidents".
Mr. Appiah said the celebrations placed premium on the
safety of pedestrians, motorcyclists and passengers who are
considered to be most vulnerable in road safety.
He said the tendency where some drivers have no respect for
the rights of other road users; particularly pedestrians
must be discarded forthwith.
"Some drivers treat pedestrians with contempt and it is with
that contemptuous outlook that make some to drive even on
the shoulders of roads and streets, forgetting that that
part of the roads are meant for the pedestrians".
Mr. Appiah lamented that most fatal accidents were
attributed to human errors and said "with little care and
patience some of these accidents could be avoided", adding
that road safety was about peoples attitudes and not
academic background of drivers.
Mr. Appiah called on parents and teachers to educate their
wards on how to walk along or cross the streets.
He advised drivers not to drive under the influence of
alcohol and drugs or when they are tired and that they
should desist from using mobile phones while driving.
Mr. Appiah said the NRSC is collaborating with stakeholders
to organise advocacy and outreach programmes to draw public
attention to the impact of road accidents.
Mr. David Osafo Adonteng, Deputy Director and Research
Officer of the NRSC said the Commission was advocating the
introduction of road safety into the school curricula and
announced that soon telephones booths would be build at
vantage points along roads to ensure immediate assistance in
case of accident.
He called for closer collaboration among stakeholders
including the media, the traditional councils and religious
organisations to ensure that road accidents were reduced to
the barest minimum.
GNA
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