Lack Of Mandatory Tow System Causes Another Tragedy
Monitoring the media landscape and the discussion in the public domain, the issue of mandatory tow system is one that cannot be relegated to the background.
This topic has dominated the media so much for weeks for which the Center for Transport Security Dialogue which is an advocate in the transport sub sector has also contributed immensely.
Road safety as have been reiterated over the time is indeed a collective effort which demands a conscious and deliberate attention of all well meaning Ghanaians.
If you would recall the Center for Transport Security Dialogue on the 18th July and 1st of August through its public relations desk churned out some figures of fatalities as a result of road accidents and recounted a number of casualties as a result of abandoned vehicles on road respectively.
We drew the attention of the public on the Kotoko incident and a recent one which occurred at Atrensu on the Techiman Wenchi main road and claimed some innocent lives.
On 4th August, 2017,at about 5:00am, one Richard Sarpong who was driving scania articulated flat body with registration number GR 5106-P with 20 footer container loaded with wood from Kumasi to Accra developed a mechanical fault in the middle of the road at Kyekyewere off the Suhum -Accra highway.
The driver resorted to using weeds on the road to control traffic instead of warning triangle.
At about 5:50am, another driver Peter Owusu who was driving Toyota Camry with registration number AS 5655-16 towards Accra could not identify the broken down truck on the road and went beneath the truck and got stuck.
The driver of the Camry car sustained injuries and rushed to Suhum Government Hospital.
After painstaking investigations and checks on this issue, the Center for Transport Security Dialogue can unequivocally say that almost all stakeholders subscribe to the mandatory tow system but differ when it comes to the mode of implementation.
It is worth noting that the issue of abandoned vehicles on our roads has become a canker that has bedeviled this country which ought to be discussed dispassionately as responsible citizens devoid of any personal interest, partisanship, and emotions to be able to find a lasting solution to this controversial yet topical and important issue.
The question is can the lives lost be quantified in monetary terms?? Is there a more creative way of having this mandatory tow system without effecting the mandatory levy??
CETSED still maintains its position that, a mandatory tow system is the way to go if we are to tackle this problem head-on with any hindrance moving forward.
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