The lack of knowledge and the absence of safe riding practices and procedures are among the major causes of road accidents on Ghana's highways.

To help curb this menace, the Pragya Riders Association, in collaboration with the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), held a day's workshop in the Techiman Municipality to ensure the safety and well-being of these riders and the communities they operate in.

The Chairman of the Techiman Pragya Riders Association, Awal Mohammed, told Joy News Wednesday that the exercise aims to reduce road accidents and get rid of under-aged riders from the Pragya business.

"Today's workshop is meant for us to give our members refresher courses to remind them of their duty to remain careful on the road, to remind them of some of the road signs because we always have to be very careful on the road so we can reduce the number of accidents in this area."

He added that the exercise also sought to "sensitise them on the need to have riding licenses, on the need to move away under-aged riders from the system because they are supposed to be in school and not to ride."

He further stressed that "if you look at the road safety regulations, it is stated that anybody who's supposed to use a vehicle for commercial purposes needs to be 25 and above. So that should tell you that the person needs to be matured enough to face any oncoming vehicle, so those who are under-aged should leave us quickly so we can have sanity in the system".

Regional head at the National Road Safety Authority, Emmanuel Akyeampong-Parry, bemoaned the increasing number of accidents caused by Pragya/Okada riders in the Techiman Municipality and the Bono East Region large.

"Majority of the road crushes we are recording here as a region is as a result of the reckless riding of some riders, and I believe that this engagement would help sanitize the system."

On his part, Dabɛnhene of the Techiman Traditional Council, Nana Owusu Antwi Boasiako admonished the riders to be law-abiding and "report any miscreant who is bent on denting the image of the riders so the law would deal with him."

Some riders were thankful to the leadership for the training and called for more engagements periodically to help reduce road accidents in the region.