General News of Tuesday, 21 January 2020
Source: Graphic.com.gh
2020-01-21
Nii Allotey Brew-Hammond, PPP National Chairman
The Progressive People’s Party (PPP) has urged the government to take drastic steps to curb the high levels of road accidents in the country.
In a statement to commiserate with family members of the 35 victims who died during the recent accident on the Elimina-Takoradi Highway and the Kumasi- Abrepo Highway, the PPP said the government must declare war on corruption which it said contributed to road accidents.
“State institutions such as the DVLA, the NRSC, the MTTD, highways authority and others must be strengthened in the enforcement of legislation to control speed and alcohol consumption, mandating the use of seatbelts, crash helmets and the safer design and use of roads and vehicles,” the statement, signed by the Director of Communications for the PPP, Mr Paa Kow Ackon, said.
According to the PPP, road accidents and its many casualties resulted in shattered families, while those who survive do not return to their normal state, a situation which posed challenges for the country’s development.
Accidents
On January 14, 2020, 34 people died when two buses collided at Dompoase in the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abirem (KEEA) Municipality.
The two buses were Man Diesel with registration number GR 5704-18 which was travelling from Takoradi towards Cape Coast and a Hyundai bus with registration number GN 3780-10 from Cape Coast towards Takoradi.
The next day, another accident occurred at Abrepo in the Ashanti Region which led to the death of one person, while 10 others sustained various degrees of injuries after a commercial vehicle collided with a tipper truck.
Ambulances
The PPP said the acquisition of ambulances by the government was a step in the right direction since they would help in the transport of patients,but that alone would not save lives on the roads.
“The primary factor in reducing mortality from trauma is not the speed of transportation but the administration of life-saving care prior to arrival at the hospital.
Important aspects in addressing mortality on our roads which a PPP government will explore are the towing of unsafe vehicles from our roads with a sense of urgency and the construction of inter-regional highways,” the statement added.
According to the PPP, a holistic approach, including the integration of road traffic prevention into the development and management of road was need to curb road accidents.
“ We recommend that road traffic injury prevention must be integrated into the development and management of road infrastructure, the provision and inspection of safer vehicles, law enforcement, mobility planning, the provision of health and hospital services, child welfare services, urban and environmental planning,” the statement added.