Support Gov't to halt spate of road crashes -Veep

Support Gov't to halt spate of road crashes -Veep By Ghanaian Chronicle October 10,2012 By Phyllis D. Osabutey THE VICE President, Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur has called on the public, businesses and civil society to assist the government in addressing the menace of incessant road accidents. He said road crashes result in about 2000 deaths a year in the country, while about 60% of crash victims are between the productive years of 18-55 years. He noted that the government through the public agencies alone cannot handle the problem. According to him, fatalities and injuries play a vital role in countries cycle of poverty because they shatter families, rob society of bread winners, deprive businesses of skilled labour, cast families into massive health-related debt, consume hospital resources and hinder local economies. The Veep was speaking at the 3 rd National Road Safety Awards on the theme: 'The Sustainable Growth of the Road Transport System - Role of Road Safety', which was held in Accra on Thursday. The Occasion was also used to open the 4 th Annual General Meeting of the West African Road Safety Organization (WARSO) on the theme, 'Consolidating the Decade of Action for Road Safety through Regional Integration.' He expressed worry that every day, road crashes account for about 3,200 lives globally, and about 1.2 million deaths yearly, leaving several million others incapacitated. He said in developing countries, road traffic crashes cost roughly $65 billion a year, stressing 'In some countries, the cost of road crashes outweigh the amount received in international aid, consuming as much as 2% of Gross National Product.' Amissah-Arthur said he was convinced that the WARSO meeting would create opportunities to share experiences and impact positively on the lives of road users in the West African sub-region. As he further pointed out, 'We cannot afford to ignore road safety as it has become a global public health issue that must be confronted with local and regional efforts.' In view of this, he said government was not concerned only about the rate of crashes on the roads but also committed to supervise a reversal of the situation because 'transport is an integral part of the pursuit of socio-economic opportunities through accessibility, availability and safe or improved mobility.' About the awards, he said it recognizes transport unions that have over the last year introduced and implemented existing internal control systems that deliver quality assurance to the travelling public. He congratulated all award winners and said several new ideas have been translated into law to improve the national road safety situation including measures to facilitate a broad based sensitization programme on the new areas embedded in the law to allow for its smooth implementation. He added that 'government will review the mandate of the National Road safety Commission (NRSC) in order for it to be more assertive as the lead statutory agency for the promotion and coordination of road safety efforts. The Executive Director of the NRSC, Noble John Appiah said the awards focus on transport organizations as a demonstration of the need for operators to develop and implement policies which impact positively on road safety. According to him, when transport operators institute safety related operational standards, road users benefit, and the image of the industry is enhanced. Backing the call of the Veep, he said road safety is a collective responsibility where partnership with the private sector is an essential component. He pointed out that it was not enough to have a national policy for safety, a ten-year National Road Safety Strategy (NRSS) among others but 'what is required is the passion and commitment we attach to road safety in this country.' He urged all stakeholders to recommit themselves to the road safety agenda in the country by implementing action plans agreed by all agencies involved in implementing the NRSS III, stressing, 'There should be no excuses or blame games, or the lack of funding. We want agencies to be innovative and creative.' He thanked all safety related agencies who support the implementation of the NRSS III, adding, 'We should continue to be focused and scale up our programmes to enable the country achieve the national vision and strategic objectives for road safety.' On his part, the President of WARSO, Osita Chidoka Ofr noted that it was unfortunate that the efforts of governments in the sub-region would have no effect if nothing was done to check the tide of road crashes and the resulting deaths and injuries on the countries. He said, 'The situation we have calls for urgent steps and actions, and a collective effort if we must get out of the woods of underdevelopment to modernity and self-sufficiency.' He urged all partners to work with WARSO and the lead agencies in the respective countries for national development through partnership and regional integration instruments by ensuring road safety at all times, saying, 'the time to act is now!' He said as a matter of necessity, member nations should endeavour to meet their individual commitments in the payment of membership dues, actual participation, and make meaningful contributions towards changing the present uncomplimentary positions on the international placement scale as least developed, least motorized, yet with highest cases of road crashes. Some of the award winners included in the Transport Union/Organization category, Great Imperial Transport Ltd, J.K Horgle Transport Ltd in the Haulage(Liquid) category, Freight Links logistics in the Haulage(Solid)category. Media personnel who won awards included Geoffrey Buta of Ghanaian Times, Mavis Obeng-Mensah of GTV and Francisca Kakra Forson of Joy FM. Source: http://www.modernghana.com/news/423056/1/support-govt-to-halt-spate-of-road-crashes-veep.html

300 Youth trained as road safety assistants

300 Youth trained as road safety assistants Wednesday, 10 October 2012 The Road Safety Management Services Gh. Ltd (RSMSL) has successfully trained the second batch of 300 young people as Road Safety Management Assistants (RSMA), a specialised unit instituted by the company to provide support to the Ghana Police Service in managing road traffic and accidents on our roads. The trained personnel were selected from the various districts in the country to ensure safety and security on the roads. The task force will be mandated to engage in towing services management, accident scene management, traffic control and management, enforcement of some road traffic laws and neighborhood watch services. Statistics indicate that abandoned and disabled vehicles contribute to about 21.8 per cent of fatal road accidents in Ghana. “The situation is worrisome on our highways-especially on the Accra-Kumasi highway where not less than 40 disabled vehicles are found in life threatening locations on the various highways,” noted the Kumasi Major, Samuel Sarpong, who inaugurated the taskforce at a ceremony at the Police Training School in Kumasi. The General Manager of RSMSL, Air Commodore Basin Dery (retd), said the 300 assistants were coming into service at a very crucial time. “In the run-up to Election 2012 and Christmas, it is expected from statistics that there would be increased vehicular movement. We need, therefore, to intensify our activities to rid the roads of disabled and abandoned vehicles which are said to cause about 22 per cent of fatal crashes. Ghana needs us alive to contribute to her progress and development,” he stated. The Deputy Ashanti Regional Police Commander, ACP Kwesi Mensah Duku, who represented the regional police boss, indicated that a General Police Special Technical Team had been set up by the Inspector-General of Police to oversee the deployment and supervision of the task-force personnel to the various accident-prone roads identified in order to reduce the incidence of crashes. The RSMSL, since its launch in February 2012, has procured and deployed 38 heavy duty and recovery trucks on major accident-prone roads to facilitate the removal of broken-down vehicles. Fifty additional modern tow trucks in three different categories have been ordered. On arrival, they will be distributed to the regions to improve on the efficiency and effectiveness of towing services in Ghana. Source: http://www.ghana.gov.gh/index.php/news/features/16748-300-youth-trained-as-road-safety-assistants

Four injured in accident involving nine vehicles in Ho

Four injured in accident involving nine vehicles in Ho October 12,2012 Four persons, including a motor rider, sustained various degrees of injuries when a Volvo tipper truck conveying canned soft drinks ran into eight vehicles and a motorbike at a busy intersection in Ho on Friday. The driver of the Volvo truck with registration number GR 3351X fled, leaving his two mates, who were injured, behind. Mr. Franklin Masiku, Volta Regional Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Fire Service, who briefed journalists at the scene, said the Fire office received a distress call at about 1125 hours. He said the driver lost control of the vehicle while descending the Klefe Hills towards Ho, and crashed the eight vehicles and a shop. The Ghana News Agency (GNA) observed that, the intersection was closed to traffic for about an hour before officials of Road Safety Management Services arrived to tow the vehicles off the spot. A medical officer at the Volta Regional Hospital told the GNA that the injuries were minor. Source:http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=252972

Speeding driver kills three school children killed and injures five in Nyinahin

Speeding driver kills three school children killed and injures five in Nyinahin OCTOBER 4,2012 Three school children were killed and five others injured when a speeding vehicle run into them at Nyinahin, capital of the Atwima-Mponua District. The children, Barikisu Seidu, 10, Amina Moro, 9, and Salita Inusa, 10, had closed from school and were walking on the shoulder of the road when the accident occurred. The injured, including Florence Nyarko, 8, Baba Moro, 11, Elizabeth Asra, 8, Martha Sumaila, 12, and Seidu Iddrisu 10, were rushed off to the Nyinahin Government Hospital with broken bones and cuts. Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) David Nkrumah, the Atwima Divisional Commander, who confirmed the accident to the Ghana News Agency, said the driver, Asare Afoakwa, is now helping the police in their investigations. He said the driver was speeding his Hyundai Elantra saloon car towards Kumasi from Sefwi-Patasie and on reaching a section of the road at Nyinahin he veered off and run the vehicle into the victims. ASP Nkrumah said the driver attempted to flee after the accident but was chased and arrested by an angry mob who set the car ablaze. The bodies of the deceased have been deposited at the Toase Mortuary. Source:http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=252158

Fatal accident claims nine lives on Koforidua-Adukrom road

Fatal accident claims nine lives on Koforidua-Adukrom road September 6,2012: A fatal accident near Adukrom on the Koforidua-Akuapem road on Thursday morning claimed nine lives including a driver of an Urvan bus with many others seriously injured. The accident occurred when a Metro Mass Transit bus hit the Urvan commercial bus at Srokpo Junction near Adukrom. The Urvan bus with registration number GT 7556-N was traveling from Koforidua to Hohoe. Briefing the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Koforidua, the Eastern Regional Commanding Officer of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU), Chief Superintendent James Sarfo Peprah, named the deceased driver as Stephen Gamaddi, 60. He said the Metro Mass Transit bus with registration number GE 9275-Z was travelling from Hohoe to Kumasi when in an attempt to negotiate a sharp curve at Srokpo Junction went onto the other lane and hit the Urvan bus on the side. Superintendent Sarfo-Peprah said seven people including Gamaddi died on the spot and two others, who sustained serious injuries, later died on the way to the Tetteh Quarshie Memorial hospital at Mampong Akuapem. He said all the dead had been deposited at the Tetteh Quarshie Memorial Hospital mortuary, pending identification by family members. Superintendent Sarfo-Peprah said those, who sustained multiple injuries, had also been taken to the same hospital for medical care. Source: http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=249729

Central Region records increases in motor accident deaths this year

Central Region records increases in motor accident deaths this year October 2,2012 One-hundred and sixty-two people died through motor accidents in the Central Region from January to September, an increase of 150 last year. Superintendent of Police Paul Aduhene, the Regional Commander in charge of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit, said this on Monday at a drivers’ unions award ceremony held in Cape Coast on the theme “sustainable growth in the road transportation system: the role of road safety”. It was organized by the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) with the aim to motivate commercial drivers to be more vigilant to help reduce road accidents. Giving statistics on road crashes in the Region from January to September 2011, Aduhene said 727 accidents occurred compared to 752 this year involving 545 commercial vehicles compared to 660 this year. Motor bike accidents also increased from 77 to 90 this year. The Metro Mass Transport Limited was adjudged the best and received the first prize, followed by the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) and the Co-operative Transport Union at the Pedu-junction being third with the fourth position going to the operators of Ford buses Franchol, Transport Services. They were presented certificates, books on the road act and regulations and warning triangles. The award-winning transport organizations will have some of their members receive training by the Commission. The Regional Manager of the NRSC, Mr. Stephen Anokye, said road traffic accidents was ranked ninth in the world and if nothing was done about it that position will shift to third by 2020. He therefore tasked all stakeholders to join hands with the Commission to help reduce road accidents in the country. Mr. Francis Donkoh, the coordinator of driving schools in Cape Coast, appealed to drivers to be more careful and vigilant by focusing on concentration, observation, anticipation and tolerance. Source:http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/religion/artikel.php?ID=252002

Police Commander hails decline in road accidents

Police Commander hails decline in road accidents By GNA Juaso (Ash), Sept 20, GNA - The Asante-Akim South District Police Commander, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Samuel Sandow Latebu has described as refreshing the sharp decline in accidents on the Yawkwei - Nadieso stretch of the Accra-Kumasi Highway. This section of the road is an accident black spot and over the years had claimed many lives. DSP Latebu told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that six car crashes, with one death, occurred there within the third quarter of this year compared to the same period the previous year, which recorded 12 crashes with four killed. The second quarter of 2011 saw 32 accidents with four fatalities at the very spot and this dropped to 12, and two lives lost, in 2012. In the first quarter there were 13 accidents as against the last year's 20 cases. DSP Latebu said the stepped up road safety campaign was paying off and expressed the hope that the downward trend would continue especially as the Christmas season approached. He urged drivers to observe road traffic regulations and avoid speeding to help reduce the carnage. GNA: http://www.modernghana.com/news/419308/1/police-commander-hails-decline-in-road-accidents.html