The Minister of Transport, Mrs Dzifa Attivor, has stated that the Ministry has developed a number of measures and reforms aimed at ensuring safety across all transport modes in the country.
Among them, she said, was the compulsory use of seatbelts which were regarded as one of the most effective ways of saving lives and reducing injuries in the event of an accident.
“It’s sad to see lives lost unnecessarily in road crashes simply because those involved either failed or refused to buckle up,” she said.
According to her, the ministry was working to have several of its regulations implemented and enforced, including the use of ‘L’ plates by learner drivers and ‘P’ plates for persons licensed to drive for the first time.
Mrs Attivor made these known at a one-day workshop in Accra for 120 participants from selected garages on ways of fixing seatbelts in vehicles.
She, therefore, tasked the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) and the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service to prepare the grounds for full implementation of the measures and reforms.
Dissatisfaction
She expressed worry over the rate of road accidents in the country and the deaths and injuries suffered as a result.
She said there were about 10,000 road crashes last year involving 15,600 vehicles, with over 1,400 deaths and 8,800 injuries recorded.
“These statistics are worrying and we must be steadfast in our plans and programmes to reduce road traffic crashes,” she said.
She said full implementation of the requirement that seatbelts should be fitted in vehicles would begin in June this year and urged all to comply with the directive in order to eliminate preventable deaths and injuries through road accidents.
Mrs Attivor said she was hopeful that the participants would take the instructions at the workshop seriously so that they would get the required skills and knowledge to enable them to work effectively.
Action Plan
The Chief Executive Officer of the DVLA, Mr Rudolf Beckley, said the authority would from henceforth cease to register new vehicles that did not have seatbelts in them. He said all public vehicles must have a seatbelt for each seat.
He said the DVLA would take charge of the supply, installation and training of identified mechanics on ways of fitting seatbelts in vehicles.
Mr Beckley said the authority in collaboration with the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), NRSC, MTTD and other agencies affiliated with transportation in the country would embark on a public sensitisation programme from May to December this year.
The General Secretary of the GPRTU, Mr Steven Okudzeto, pledged the union’s support for the exercise.
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