PROVIDING SAFETY ON OUR ROADS

Page 7: Daily Graphic, May 3, 2012. ROAD accidents remain a pain in the neck of not only the victims of those accidents who survive them but also their families and the country as a whole. The cost of accidents in respect of losses, time, injury, damage and rehabilitation is so high that everyone wishes there would be fewer accidents. Oftentimes, the bad nature of roads and recklessness on the part of some motorists are blamed for some of the major road accidents. It is in this vein that our governments have always undertaken major road rehabilitation, either by itself or with the assistance of donors, to put the roads in shape to facilitate the easy movement of persons and goods. Many of us have often greeted the inauguration of such roads with joy and happiness. A typical example is the George Walker Bush Highway from the Tetteh Quarshie Interchange to the Mallam Junction Interchange. Unfortunately, a few days after the inauguration of that road, concerns were raised over the safety provisions on that stretch following the death of about 23 people within a spate of two weeks. On Tuesday morning, residents of Mallam woke up to a bizarre accident in which a 40-footer articulated truck overturned from the top to the ground, killing its driver and the mate. That accident appears to be the first of its kind on any of the interchanges or flyovers Ghana has built. We do not think that the accident occurred because the driver was a foreigner and did not know the road very well. After all, a compatriot of his had driven through the same stretch. The Daily Graphic has cause to believe that that stretch of road needs many more road markings and lighting in view of the sharp nature of the interchange. It is true that some of our drivers are careless and overspeed, in spite of the warning signals. But it is also a fact that there are no warning signals to or from either end of the interchange to caution drivers on the dangers ahead. The siting of the directional signs from the Awoshie side of the interchange can be a bother to drivers because of the fact that they are remotely located. It seems our road engineers take some of these markings and warning signs for granted in the construction of our roads. For instance, which of the newly constructed roads has markings for bicycle users? Bicycle riders are seen every day competing with vehicles for the same space. The Daily Graphic believes that the public deserves not only good roads with clear markings but also require more education on road usage. We think the education should not be limited to commercial drivers only but should be started from the basic schools, so that road safety awareness can be inculcated in children from an early age. We think that the department responsible for road maintenance must also endeavour to provide humps, especially at accident-prone areas to compel speeding drivers to slow down. Enforcement of our traffic regulations is also key in preventing and reducing road accidents in the country. The nation and our families deserve better and we think we must all contribute our quota to reduce road accidents.