Commercial (trotro) drivers in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis yesterday embarked on a sit-down strike, leaving most commuters stranded.
According to the drivers their action was to resist the implementation of a new law that makes it mandatory for them to fix seatbelts for each passenger.
Parliament passed a legislative instrument two years ago to help deal with the high rate of road accidents in the country.
The measure was expected to achieve a 50 per cent reduction in deaths and serious injuries associated with vehicle accidents by 2020.
Section 119 (1) of the LI states: “A person shall not drive a motor vehicle unless it is fitted with a seatbelt.”
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) has therefore decided not to register commercial vehicles if they did not have seatbelts fitted for each passenger.
That is the first phase. The second phase is to provide seat belts to vehicles already in the system but which do not have some.
The DVLA set March 1, 2015 as the date to begin the implementation of the second phase of the project.
However, the trotro drivers in the above-mentioned metropolis are insisting that it is impossible to have such a law implemented in Ghana, stressing, “We are not happy about this new law.”
Some of them also called for more time for them to prepare adequately for the implementation.
“Our members need sufficient time for this seat belt policy,” they indicated.
A visit by DAILY GUIDE to some of the lorry parks revealed that they were virtually empty and commuters stranded.
In separate interviews with DAILY GUIDE, the drivers were of the view that provision of passenger seat belts could not be a panacea to road accidents as suggested by the authorities.
They indicated that construction of quality and accessible roads would be the remedy to the rampant road carnage.
They contended that the move could not be practicable as the commercial vehicles are not manufactured in the country to provide seat belts for each passenger.
The irate drivers bemoaned the fact that the decision was taken without the collective involvement of drivers and their various unions.
According to them, they could not renew their old documents because they had not fixed their seat belts.
They therefore, described as wrong the directive to provide passenger seat belts in all commercial vehicles.
They warned that they would continue to embark on the sit-down strike, should the law be implemented.
When DAILY GUIDE contacted Ben Kwasi Ansah, 2nd Trustee of the Western Regional branch of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), he confirmed the strike action.
He, however, disclosed that his outfit had asked the drivers to end the strike because the DVLA had reversed its decision.
According to him, the seat belts were not even available in the system and that even at the national level, the exercise had been suspended.
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