The 2019 edition of the Ghana Driver & Road Safety Awards has been launched in Accra under the theme, “Rewarding Driving Excellence; Promoting Road safety”, with a pledge by key stakeholders to collaborate to make Ghana’s roads safer for all.

Speaking at the event, Deputy Transport Minister, Daniel Nii Kwatei Titus-Glover, commended the organisers for recognising the pivotal role played by drivers in the daily lives of Ghanaians.

He urged drivers to go about their duties with dignity, adding, “Driving is a noble profession; therefore, we need to value the contributions of our drivers.”

Mr Titus-Glover lauded the theme of the event, noting that training and education of drivers was key to ensuring road safety in Ghana.

He, however, bemoaned the lax attitude of some drivers towards training and education cautioning “the Ministry of Transport is taking this matter so seriously.”

On her part, the Director of Partnerships of the Ghana Driver and Road Safety Awards (GDRSA), Freda Frimpong, underscored the crucial role of driver re-training to reducing road traffic accidents in the country.

She also re-echoed the motivation for the Ghana Driver & Road Safety Awards which is to use rewards and recognition to promote good driving conduct and to raise road safety champions amongst drivers.

Madam Frimpong stressed that the 2019 awards programme would entail close interaction with drivers through activations at
a number of commercial transport terminals.

The activations would provide an avenue for health screening, eye – checks, lifesaving road safety education, as well as some instant prizes.

The Executive Director of the National Road Safety Commission, May Obiri-Yeboah, on her part, hailed GOIL, GHACEM and Enterprise Insurance as well as the other supporting sponsors, for contributing to a worthy cause.

She called on corporate organisations to come on board.

She stressed that everyone is at risk directly or indirectly when our roads are unsafe.

The Ghana Driver & Road Safety Awards began in the year 2018 as parts of efforts by road safety partner organisations to halve road accidents by 2030. This year’s edition comes with a number of novel additions including a special ‘Female Driver Category’ to encourage more women to participate in the competition.

The programme would also see some unlicensed commercial drivers sponsored by Enterprise Insurance to be trained by Driving Schools and licensed by the Driver & Vehicle Licensing Authority.

Other speakers at the event included Marcus Deo-Dake of GOIL, Solomon Ayiah of GHACEM, and Vanessa Harding of Enterprise Insurance. They pledged their organisations' commitment to road safety and the welfare of drivers and all Ghanaians.

Some drivers who attended the launch walked away with fuel coupons from GOIL and other souvenirs from sponsors for answering questions on road signs and safety on the road.

GDRSA 2019 will climax in November with the overall winner driving away in a brand new car. Several other drivers will win prizes on the way to the ultimate crown.