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