The National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) has projected a fatality rate of 11% for road crashes nationwide by the end of 2015.
This projection by the commission has been borne out of the commission�s success in beating its 2014 projection of a fatality rate of 13.98% to 10.1 at the end of the year.
These were revealed at a press conference in Accra last week on the current road safety situation in the country.
Speaking at the event, the Chief Executive Officer of the commission, Mrs May Obiri-Yeboah, stated that the only way road crashes can be reduced to the minimum is when all stakeholders responsible for ensuring safety on the roads play their parts diligently.
According to her, if the roads are provided and road traffic regulations are not enforced, road crashes would not be reduced.
She thanked all the stakeholders in the sector for working hard to help reduce crashes in 2014, adding that if Ghana continues in this line, the United Nations Organisation�s (UNO) target of reducing fatalities by half in 2020 will be achieved.
Kweku Rockson, a member of the commission�s board, urged all individuals to take road safety issues seriously. According to him, issues pertaining to road safety are a shared responsibility since we are all road users.
He charged the media to support the commission in disseminating information on how to ensure personal safety on our roads.
Nana Annor Amihere, Safety Ghana, charged the authorities to deal assiduously with people who abuse the road because of the offices they hold in the country.
He said, �If public figures respect the road traffic regulations, others will follow suit.�
The Director of Planning and Programme at the NRSC, Ing. David Osafo Adonteng, in a presentation, outlined major interventions the commissioner, together with its stakeholders, would embark on to see the year�s projections materialise.
He hinted that there would be the removal of sub-standard billboards and sub-standard tyres from the system, as well as the introduction of spot fines to deter drivers from flaunting road traffic regulations.
Other measures, according to him, include additional police presence on the roads; the Ghana Highway Authority and its partners will also ensure that roads are properly marked.
<<Print>>