•Public Relations Officer of the Authority, Pearl Adusu revealed this during an interview with GhanaWeb
•According to her, other factors including irresponsibility and indiscipline have also contributed to high accident numbers
The National Road Safety Authority has attributed the growing spate of accidents in the country, partly to the increase in vehicular numbers in the country.
Speaking to GhanaWeb on its Road Safety Campaign Series, Pearl Adusu, the Public Relations Officer at the Authority explained that statistics gathered by the institution indicate that more cars are coming into the country and this, coupled with the increase in population, is part of reasons more accidents are happening in the country.
Her submissions were in response to a question by Etsey Atisu on why the number of fatalities keep increasing over the years, despite the existence of institutions like the NRSA which are mandated to ensure safety on our roads.
“Over the past few years, there have been influx of vehicles into the country, it has risen to more than 100% and the population is growing.
“When we look at the statistics; in the 90s when we used to be about 11 million, today, we are about 30 million. The cars keep coming and commuters have increased and so the more vehicles and people go on the streets, the more crashes happen,” she said.
Aside this, Pearl Adusu also noted that the irresponsible attitude of road users comprising drivers, motor riders and commuters, has accounted for some of these lapses and increase in motor accidents. Road Safety institutions which shed their responsibilities according to her, have also contributed to the high road accident numbers we see now.
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“Notwithstanding this, road users are not adhering to the Road Safety rules and regulations, coupled with the irresponsible attitude of people who work in the road safety institutions, all these culminate into the increase in the statistics that we have.
“If not for road safety Authority that is putting down standards and developing standards and promoting road safety by coordinating activities and other campaigns, we do there, the numbers would even have been more than we are seeing,” she added.
About GhanaWeb Road Safety Campaign:
The GhanaWeb Road Safety Campaign forms a part of the numerous projects GhanaWeb has rolled out as part of its 22nd-anniversary celebrations.
The year-long campaign dubbed #GhanaWebRoadSafety took off on Monday, March 1, 2021, and will focus on three key areas: indiscipline on roads; bad roads, and potholes that contribute to road accidents and absence of streetlights.
The campaign is being executed in partnership with major stakeholders including the Ghana Road Safety Commission, the Motor Transport and Traffic Directorate of the Ghana Police Service, the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, the Ghana Fire Service, the Ghana National Ambulance Service and the Drivers and Vehicle Licensing Authority.
The campaign is also spearheaded by musician and politician Bice Osei Kuffour (Obour) as the Ambassador.
Join in the conversation by sharing your videos about indiscipline, bad roads and accidents on all our social media platforms; Instagram, Twitter and Facebook at @TheGhanaWeb and to our Whatsapp number: 0552699625
