The Chairman of the National Road Safety Commission, Mr. Johnson Cliff Aboagye, at the weekend called for equal attention to be given to road traffic issues as the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

He said the rate at which lives were being lost through road accidents, and the repercussive effects like the devastation of families and skilled manpower required urgent national attention similar to that given the HIV/AIDS disease.

Mr Aboagye was addressing the closing ceremony of a three-day driver management science course at Legon, near Accra, for 52 Drivers, Workshop Mechanics and Transport Supervisors of the Electricity Company of Ghana, organised by Road Safety and Transportation Consultancies Limited.

He called for care and concern for one another by all road users.

With the carnage through road traffic accidents in Ghana in recent times, Mr Aboagye called for constant education and drew the attention of the Government to clear the roads of hawkers.

“The National Road Safety Commission will take the bull by the horn soon if this in not done," Mr Aboagye said.

According to the Chairman, road safety crusade and campaigns should not be limited to festive periods or important occasions alone, but should be all year round.

He said in the city of Beijing, China, there were about 5.6 million vehicles compared to the about 800,000 vehicle population, for the whole of Ghana, yet all road users were concerned about one another.

Mr Aboagye charged the course participants to put what they have learned to an effective use.

Mr Godfred Akyea-Darkwah, Chief Executive officer of the Road Safety and Transport Consultancies Limited, said the work of workshop technicians contributed about six to 10 per cent of all road facilities

Bad workmanship, use of imitation spares, bad and incorrect alterations, coupled with inefficiency on the part of the technicians are the lead causes of the killings.

Most of the road crashes are caused by tyre burst, brake failures, vehicle fires and part failures, which are remotely traceable to bad workmanship and ill advice to mechanics.

Mr Akyea-Darkwah said bad driver behaviour and attitude contributed about 75 percent of road traffic crashes, and underscored constant retraining and refresher course for drivers technicians.

He announced the formation of the Association of Chartered Institute of Drivers (ACID).

Mr Akyea-Darkwah bemoaned the danger of using cell phones while driving, pointing out that it was believed the practice was one of the leading cause of road crashes in Ghana.

"The RSTC is calling out the law enforcement agencies to help stem this bad habit.... Don't risks your whole life through this small device," Mr Akyea-Darkwah said.



Source: GNA