LET'S HAVE SANITY ON ROADS (APRIL 7, 2009)

IN a few days Ghanaians will join the rest of the world to celebrate Easter to mark the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
As is common with such festive occasions, there will be an “exodus” of people from various locations to their home towns to join their families and community members to celebrate the occasion.
The period from Thursday to next week Monday will witness an influx of commuters from various lorry stations to their destinations throughout the country.
During the period, commercial drivers will be in brisk business trying to capitalise on the occasion to make some extra income. Consequently, our roads will be very busy, with some drivers attempting to abuse the system to their advantage.
The nation was traumatised some few weeks ago when newspapers and radio stations were full of reports of multiple accidents on our roads.
These accidents were so fatal that it became scary to use our roads because statistics put the death toll at 300 within three months.
It is refreshing, however, that when the carnage on the roads was heading for epidemic proportions, the government moved in quickly to put in some interventions, in collaboration with the transport unions and other stakeholders.
The Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service also decided to intensify patrols on the highways to bring recalcitrant drivers to book and encourage compliance with road traffic regulations.
The DAILY GRAPHIC commends all stakeholders that moved quickly to stem the spate of road accidents in the country in order to reassure the travelling public of their safety on the roads.
Again, it is good news that the authorities have initiated road safety campaigns well ahead of the Easter holidays in order to sensitise drivers to the need to respect road traffic regulations.
It is against this background that we salute Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited (GGBL) for launching the Easter “Safe-Drive” campaign at various lorry stations in Accra.
Easter is a period of renewal of our faith in God, as well as for strengthening social bonds in our communities. Many communities also use the Easter period to organise activities, including fund-raising, to improve their well-being.
People’s plans for such celebrations should not be truncated by irresponsible drivers who drive recklessly on our roads.
It has been established that most of the accidents on our roads are caused by human error. This means that if our drivers pay attention to details, such as respect for road traffic regulations, we shall all be spared the pain of losing loved ones or breadwinners to accidents.
Alcoholism or drink-driving, which is a major offence in some jurisdictions, is one of the reasons for the carnage on our roads.
The DAILY GRAPHIC appeals to the police to intensify their education of the motoring public on road traffic regulations but they should not spare the rod when the laws are breached.
We also remind drivers to respect road traffic regulations because “it is better to be late to their destinations than being referred to as the late Mr X”.