The National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) says it has initiated investigations into the road crashes last weekend which resulted in the death of 17 people in separate accidents across the country.

A statement issued by the Authority indicated that as part of the investigations, it has scaled up its ‘Stay Alive’ campaign for this year and deployed road safety inspectors at major transport terminals.

This move is part of efforts “to ensure compliance to road safety directives on two drivers per long-distance route and the use of vehicle logbooks, among others.”

Over the weekend, four separate road accidents were recorded in the Eastern, Oti and Greater Accra regions, which led to the death of 17 people while others sustained several cases of injuries.

On the Accra-Kumasi highway, nine people were confirmed dead after a Hyundai universe commercial bus with registration number AK 324-22 crashed head-on with a stationary articulated truck off the Asuboi stretch.

The driver of the bus is reported to have failed to observe traffic regulations because he was allegedly sleeping.

In a related development, five persons were crashed to death in an accident on the Nkawkaw-Oframase road after a sprinter bus with registration number GC 6521-21 crashed into a stationary truck on Sunday dawn.

A 40-year-old man crashed to death while en route to his wedding reception at Fumesua in the Ashanti Region on Sunday.

According to Police, the groom, Mohammed Zakari Babangida, lost control over his Ford vehicle and consequently veered off his lane and landed into a ditch.

“Preliminary investigations indicated that excessive speeding, wrongful overtaking, inattentiveness, disabled vehicles and fatigue are the critical contributory factors to the crashes recorded,” the NRSA said in a statement.

It has, therefore, appealed to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to increase the presence of Police on accident-prone roads “to help enforce traffic regulations, including excessive speeds by drivers.”

“The Authortiy has noted that despite the frequent occurrence of the road traffic crashes, its resultant injuries and death have declined by 3.7% and 9.2% respectively in the month of January and February, 2022 as compared to the same period in 2021.

“However, the last few days have seen a rise in crashes which may not necessarily mean a rise in crashes or crises situation. The Authority calls for calm and support from the public for the operationalization of its mandate and implementation of existing strategies to improve the road safety situation,” the statement added.

Below is the NRSA statement: