The First Deputy Speaker of Parliament has said that the fear of losing votes is the reason governments are unable to enforce tough road safety policies.

According to Joseph Osei Owusu, organised driver unions wield the power to influence their members to vote against the government of the day should it introduce and effectively implement road safety policies.

“As we speak commercial vehicles are not required to go on the machines, because commercial drivers are organised and they can demonstrate against the government. So governments are afraid,” he said.

He made the comment while contributing his views as part of Joy News’ #ArriveAlive campaign.

Joseph Osei Owusu

The former boss of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) also stated that a policy that required that all commercial vehicles get pass a test before getting a commercial drivers’ licence was scrapped due to agitation by drivers and the fear of government of losing votes.

“It is for your safety, but commercial drivers were up in arms and so we stopped. Because in the end, you need the votes, you need the peace of the country to be able to manage [the country],” he noted.

JoyNews’ #ArriveAlive campaign is a road safety campaign that aims to find solutions on how to make roads in Ghana safe for all users with a continued discourse on why frequent road accidents are occurring across the country.

The campaign comes as conversations on road safety have been reignited since a major carnage that occurred on January 14, 2020, at Dompoase junction on the Cape Coast-Takoradi highway.

That accident claimed the lives of 34 people and injured many more.