Statistics released by the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) indicates that 708 persons died from 4,049 road accidents as of April this year.
Out of the figure, 3,983 persons sustained various degrees of injury with 1,199 pedestrian knockdowns involving 6,468 vehicles and 1,289 motorbikes.
Mr David Osafo Adonteng, the Director of Planning and Programming at the NRSC, disclosed this at a media briefing to mark this year’s West Africa Road Safety Organisation Day and Fourth United Nations Global Road Safety Week in Accra on Monday.
He said speeding was the cause most deaths on the roads and, therefore, tasked the media, the Police, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority and all relevant institutions to join the campaign against speeding.
He urged the stakeholders to tackle the issue of speeding with renewed commitment and strategy, saying; “We can’t sit down for people to perish needlessly, saying, “It’s time to move the agenda to stop the menace”.
Mr Adonteng said the Commission would be more visible and louder at the district, regional and national levels through intensive public education on the dangers of speeding as well as increase advocacy, monitoring and research.
“We are going to hit hard on substandard tyres because they are gradually rearing their ugly heads on this speeding arena, therefore, we will engage the private sector to remove all disabled vehicles from the road,” he said.
He expressed optimism that the NRSC would soon change its status to an authority or agency that would have the power to insist on institutional compliance and standards in order to change things for the better.
He urged the police to improve on the enforcement of road traffic regulations by arresting traffic offenders through the use of information and communication technology and speed cameras to check speeding on the roads.
“Let’s use global practices where you can sit in a room and use an ICT system to monitor activities on the road and apprehend offenders and prosecute them,” he said.
Mr Adonteng tasked the engineers at the Ghana Highway Authority to construct footbridges at the appropriate locations in the cities and urban centres to protect lives and property.
He tasked the media to highlight the dangers of speeding through extensive reportage to create public awareness.
He used the occasion to outdoor new road signs to increase public awareness on the need to observe road traffic regulations and speed limits.
Mrs May Obiri-Yeboah, the Executive Director of the Commission, said 60 per cent of all road fatalities were as a result of senseless speeding on the road and, therefore, called for collective efforts by all stakeholders to curb the menace.
She urged motorists to comply with the road safety rules and regulations in order to save precious lives and property.
She advised pedestrians to use footbridges constructed on strategic locations and walk along the roads while facing oncoming traffic to avoid pedestrian knockdown.
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