The crucial issue of road safety and road traffic management took centre stage when the National Police Command Conference opened in Accra yesterday. For the first time, key stakeholders are participating in the conference to deliberate on the menace of road accidents and how to control or eliminate it. The stakeholders include the Ministry of Transport, Roads and Highways, Regional Police Commanders, National Road Safety Commission and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA). Speaking at the opening of the two-day conference, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Paul Quaye, called on stakeholders to synchronise their activities and collaborate to tackle the menace of road accidents facing the nation. He said all the agencies which played a role in road safety management in the country had challenges that needed to be addressed in order to enhance effectiveness both individually and collectively. He said to strengthen one and leave the other would amount to a lop-sided approach which would affect the smooth functioning of the entire road safety system, adding that the provision of requisite resources and equipment, allocation of realistic budget for road safety activities and an improvement in road safety, service delivery mechanisms must be given national priority. The IGP said statistics collected from January to September, this year, indicated that a total of 9,997 road accidents were recorded nationwide, in which 1,333 deaths occurred while 9,728 persons were seriously injured. He said it was time the MTTU was equipped with patrol cars which were swift, robust and well-furnished with communication gadgets that could travel the length and breath of the major highways to check speeding, recklessness and drunk driving, among other things. Mr Quaye gave the assurance that the police would do their best to ensure that they overcome enforcement challenges, adding that "we shall do this with commitment, zeal and determination within the limitation of our capabilities and resources to help reduce the spate of road accidents". The Minister of the Interior, Mr Martin Amidu, said the country was increasingly gaining notoriety for the upsurge in the figures of road accidents and fatalities, pointing out that, "the earlier we push harder in finding a lasting solution to the problem the better it would be for all of us". He said generic approaches served as road maps but were not the panacea to ubiquitous problems like road accidents since structures were set up and operated by human beings, adding that, "the degree of success is dependent on the focus, resolve and commitment of those who manage these structures". The Deputy Minister of Transport, Mrs Dzifa Attivor, said road transport would continue in the foreseeable future to be the dominant mode of transport that would be used to carry out most of the economic activities in the country. She said the ministry, in collaboration with the National Road Safety Commission and other stakeholders, had drafted new road traffic regulations, which are currently before the Cabinet for consideration. Source: Daily Graphic