A total of 33 lives were lost in the Bono East Region through 42 road crashes from January to March this year.

This is according to the Regional Head of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), Emmanuel Parry Acheampong.

In the same period of 2022, he said 25 people died in 54 road crashes in the region, an indication of a slight increase in the number of deaths, he said.

Speaking in an interview with the Adom News, he said 137 people were injured through road accidents in the first quarter of 2023 as against 63 injuries recorded in 2022, while 23 pedestrians were knocked down within the period, as against 13 in the same period of 2022.

He said 61 vehicles including motorbikes were involved in those crashes, but within the same period of 2022, it was 98 vehicles.

Mr Acheampong said the passage of the new Legislative Instrument (LI) 2468 was timely and would compel road operators to abide by the law and deal with offenders who flouted regulations on the roads.

This, he believed, would make the work of the Authority more effective to help reduce road crashes occurring on the roads.

 Mr Acheampong said the staff of the Authority had educated and continued to educate the populace about road safety, but some motorists were not complying, hence it was time for the law to take its course and punish offenders.

He, therefore, advised drivers to be cautious and comply with the provisions of the new LI by doing things right on the road to avoid being punished by the law