<<Print>>

The National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) has introduced a new regulation to check the behavior of road users in the country. The road traffic regulation which is expected to be passed this year will help improve safety of people on the roads. It includes the use of permits by commercial vehicle drivers, restricting them from the use of mobile phones while driving. The Public Relations Officer of the NRSC in Accra, Mr Kwame Koduah Atuahene, said the new regulation would require drivers to meet standards of examinations from co-ordinating stakeholders such as the Driver�s Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA). He distinguished the new regulation from the National Road Safety Policy (NRSP), which was launched last year. �The new regulation expected to be passed will contain laws to check behaviors of road users, while the NRSP realigns all strategies and policies from coordinating stakeholders to embrace future road safety,� Mr Atuahene said. He further explained that NRSP would provide its management with strategies and guidelines to improve road safety. Reacting to the rate of road accidents between January and December last year, Mr Atuahene said road accidents, from his perspective, had reduced, although the 2009 statistics had not been compiled yet. He attributed the low rate of accidents to the effective measures taken by co-ordinating stakeholders to educate the public during the �Arrive Safely Campaign organized last year. Commenting on the establishment of the National Drivers Academy to train road users, Mr Atuahene said the project would be implemented this year with a pilot study in Accra before extending it to other parts of the country. The Drivers� Academy is a collaborative effort between the NRSC and other stakeholders to improve the skills and competencies of drivers in the country thereby reducing the spate of accident in the country.