GHANAIANS yesterday received the disturbing news of the accident involving the President’s vehicle while on his way to the Castle for the day’s official duties. Thankfully, the President escaped unhurt when the Mercedes Benz saloon car rammed through his convoy on the Liberation Road in Accra and crashed into his Limousine, forcing it to somersault three times.
The impact of the crash was said to be so heavy that the President’s vehicle grazed over another VW Golf car on the opposite lane of the dual carriage road. Though investigations have just begun, initial police reports say this near national disaster could have been avoided if the driver of the Mercedes Benz that rammed into the President’s convoy had obeyed simple road traffic regulations. There is also the case of the alcohol level of that same driver at the time of the accident. The argument is not about the special privileges of his Excellency President Kufuor that require that everything must come to a standstill while on his way to work at the Castle.
It is important that all road users, particularly drivers, are educated to appreciate the essence of all emergency situations. In other jurisdictions that everybody tries to play by the rules, simple regulations are adhered to because the consequences can be unpleasant.
It is sad to note that in our country, the culture of impunity has eaten so deep into our fabric that respect for the rules has gone to the dogs. If that is not the case, traffic would come to a standstill and make way for a presidential convoys or ambulances that perform emergency services in our country.
Accidents involving presidential motorcades have become quite alarming. During the tenure of President Kufuor alone about six accidents, some fatal, have occurred. In some of these cases too, it was the utter disregard for signals from dispatch riders that resulted in these accidents. Bread winners have died through these tragedies while in other cases, limbs have been lost.
In 2000 former President Jerry John Rawlings’s convoy was involved in an accident in which three of his security details died while the former president and his wife escaped narrowly. Similar accidents involving other notable personalities such as the sitting Vice-President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, presidential candidates, top business executives and even ordinary passengers which were caused by human error are very painful to recount.
The Daily Graphic reminds all road users that every life counts and is crucial for the efforts at social transformation. For this reason, road users are reminded to observe simple traffic regulations in order to reduce the carnage on our roads.
It is against this background that the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) and the Motor Transport and Traffic Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service must, as of necessity, collaborate with the road transport organisations to educate all road users to comply with traffic regulations. It is sad that as the state spends more of its scarce resources to make our roads motorable carnage on the road is on the ascendancy. The irony is that when the roads are in deplorable conditions motorists tend to be careful.
The Daily Graphic is of the view that yesterday’s accident involving the President is a wake-up call to all to accord the President’s motorcade and all emergency service providers including ambulances and fire fighting vehicles the needed priority. Motorists should not stand in their way, in order to prevent avoidable accidents. Also, the security agencies must beef up security in the President’s convoy to avoid a recurrence of yesterday’s near fatal accident. We wish the President, as well as his driver, and Mr Thomas Osei, who caused the accident, a speedy recovery.
We call on all Ghanaians of goodwill to say prayers for the President and to the other accident victims so that the good Lord will heal and strengthen them.
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