The Central Regional Director of National Road Safety Commission (NRSC), Mr Stephen Anokye, has announced that the commission would soon engage the various political parties road safety issues.
This, he hopes, will help reduce motor accidents, before, during and after the general election.
He said it is imperative for the Commission to meet the various political parties to educate them on the need to sensitize their supporters not to overload and over-speed their campaign vehicles as well as engage in reckless driving.
Mr Anokye who said this on the sidelines of the Regional Coordinating Council meeting in Cape Coast, tasked the parties not to concentrate on their campaign messages alone.
They should also find time to educate their members and supporters on road safety issues to help reduce the unnecessary motor accidents that occur during political campaigns.
He expressed concern about the rate of pedestrian knock downs in the region.
He said 49.5 per cent of the accident fatalities recorded in the region were due to pedestrians knock downs.
Mr. Anokye pointed out that, the issues of road safety is a collective responsibility and called on stakeholders to put their hands on deck to reduce the number of motor accidents.
The Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ASP) Kwame Tachie Poku, said a total of 369 road accidents have been recorded in the first half of the year, as against 372 around the same period last year, representing 0.8 per cent reduction.
He said 71 motor accident deaths have been recorded from January to June this year, as compared to 60 cases last year representing 18 per cent increase.
On pedestrian knock downs, he said 65 cases have been recorded from January to June, as against 67 cases for the same period last year, and attributed the situation to over-speeding and reckless and careless driving.
He cited an incidence that happened last week, when a 13 year- old boy was knocked down by a Ford bus at Biriwa near Cape Coast, a third knock down within three months in the area.
He said to help address the situation, the police in collaboration with NRSC, is mounting road checks at Swedru, Kasoa and Mankessim.
On security, ASP Poku said during the first quarter of the year, the region recorded 22 robbery cases as against 67 last year, representing an 84 per cent reduction.
Touching on the general election, he said a regional security task-force had been put in place, and 1,016 police personnel had been trained in public order management and crowd control.
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Source: GNA