Two hundred and sixty-three people have lost their lives in road crashes in the month of April alone. This is according to the latest statistics released by the Motor Traffic and Transport Department of the Ghana Police Service.

The figure represents a marginal increase in the number of deaths each month, since the beginning of the year.

The total number of fatalities on the road between January and April this year is therefore, 1,034.

Also, 5,668 persons have been maimed as a result of road accidents in the first quarter of 2021.

The Director of Operations at MTTD, Dr Samuel Sasu Mensah in an interview with JoyNews said “road traffic accidents have been increasing at a fast rate. When we review the statistics, things are not looking good at all.”

“We have enforced the laws, carried out public education and awareness creation, but it doesn’t seem to be changing anything,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Bagbin has recounted how wearing a seatbelt saved his life in three separate "near-fatal accidents".

The Speaker observed that though in all incidents he was in high-end four-wheel-drive vehicles, none them could be recovered after these accidents.

“Members of Parliament are always on the move and so I had about three near-fatal accidents but survived them because I obeyed one of the guiding rules of a passenger; putting on my seatbelt. 

“On all three occasions, even though I was using Land Cruisers, none of them could be recovered but I came out unhurt because the belt held me to the seat,” he narrated.

The Speaker, therefore, advised that drivers and passengers should always prioritise the usage of seatbelts to save lives stressing that “it is very important”.

Mr Bagbin also vowed to ensure that Parliament drafts a proposal to holistically deal with the carnage on the country's roads.

“Road accidents even kill more than HIV/AIDS, it is just that not all are reported and recorded and I think as a country we need to take a very serious view of it.

“Personally, what I think I can do to support it, I will do. And I will also want to get the opportunity for the House to at least, take some action about the matter.”

Road accidents have over the years been of grave concern to society because thousands of Ghanaians have lost their lives as a result.

The situation is as of now very worrying, hence, the Joy cluster of The Multimedia Group is embarking on a campaign dubbed #ArriveAlive to help reduce the spate of the menace drastically.