New Road Regulation For Ghana

The Deputy Minister for Transport, Ms Dzifa Ativor, said her Ministry in collaboration with the National Road Safety Commission and other stakeholders has drafted a new Road Traffic Regulation which will soon be before parliament for consideration and enactment. The Deputy Minister hoped that when the regulations become law it will further empower enforcement agencies in ensuring that the roads are safe. She said strategies to effectively deal with road traffic management so as to reduce road fatalities would be incomplete if as a nation, we continue to consider expenditure in road safety as a cost; adding that the government will continue to make all the investment in the sector. The Deputy Minister noted that last week the Ministry commissioned a state of the art brake testing equipment procured by the Driver Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) which can either be fixed or mobile. She said using communication devices while driving, towing of disabled or broken down vehicles, compulsory wearing of protective clothing the use of crash helmets when riding motor cycles and bicycles, using seat belts as well as spot fines will be enforceable and prohibitive when the regulations are in force. Launching the campaign, Ms Ativor called on the private sector to join hands with government to address the carnage on roads since accidents is no respecter of any person. The Director of Planning and Programmes at the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC), Mrs May Obiri-Yeboah, disclosed that a research conducted in 2007 by the Commission indicated that one of the reasons why drivers drive tired and ignore the mandatory rest is the poor conditions of their service in order to meet high demands of their employers. Mrs Obiri-Yeboah stressed that in order to curb the situation, NRSC, together with partners have introduced the National Road Safety Award to deserving transport organisations that have the best road safety profile. The General Secretary of General Transport Petroleum and Chemical Workers Union of Ghana (GTPCWU), Mr E. A. Mensah, indicated that the celebration is on different themes which include �Respect and Safety Now, Eradicating the Carnage on Our Roads, Addressing the Indiscipline on Our Roads, Addressing Undue Delays at Our Frontiers, Minimising HIV and AIDS among Road Transport Workers and Fatigue Kills.� He noted that one of the themes: �Respect and Safety Now�, calls for stakeholder participation to ensure that individual rights and aspirations become the pivot around which all the operations and activities revolve. The International Road Transport Action Week Campaign organised by the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) commences on 7th October 2011 to 14th October 2011.