PROTECTING LIVES ON OUR ROADS (AUGUST 15, 2009)

THE increasing number of accidents on our roads in recent times gives cause for concern, especially among the motoring public.
For some years now, accidents have claimed precious lives and maimed many breadwinners. Children of accident victims have become destitute and are struggling to survive because of carelessness on the part of certain drivers.
When the nation was rocked with news of tragic accidents across the length and breadth of the country this year, the government responded swiftly by putting in place measures to stem the challenge.
For the first half of this year, 6,219 accidents involving 8,594 vehicles were recorded. Out of the recorded accidents 880 people were killed while 4,470 were injured.
The carnage on the roads has been caused mostly by indiscipline on our roads, which has reached intolerable limits because many of the drivers who flout road traffic regulations are not appropriately sanctioned.
The ineffectiveness of the policy and regulation governing road transport has led to a situation where drink driving is a common feature on the roads. Many drivers also speed and overtake at wrong places.
The use of rickety cars on the roads is also another source of road accidents. These vehicles are also not maintained regularly to guarantee the safety and comfort of passengers.
The accident rate on the road has been rising because the processes that drivers go through to obtain their licences have become questionable.
The mushrooming of driving schools has compounded the situation as some of the schools are only interested in enrolment and not the quality of their products.
It has also been observed that the way accident victims are handled from accident scenes to hospital by ‘good Samaritans’ also contributes immensely to increase the death toll.
The DAILY GRAPHIC is encouraged by the fact that at along last, first aid training is to be made compulsory for all prospective applicants for driver’s licence.
The Secretary-General of the Ghana Red Cross Society, Mr Andrews Frimpong, said the project, currently on a pilot basis in the Eastern Region, was to make sure that all drivers were able to provide first aid to victims before conveying them to the nearest health facility.
We hope this programme will be successful so that it can be replicated in other parts of the country.
The DAILY GRAPHIC recalls a similar policy in the past when all drivers were asked to instal first aid boxes in their vehicles but the move was a nine-day wonder because the drivers did not have any training in first aid.
The plans to provide the drivers with first aid boxes and the establishment of first aid posts along the highways will help to reduce the rate of casualty among accident victims.
The DAILY GRAPHIC calls on all transport unions to support the efforts of the Ghana Red Cross Society to ensure the careful handling of accident victims.
Let us join forces to deal with the carnage on our roads to forestall families losing breadwinners, and at the same time save huge budgets used to treat accident victims. The man-hours lost during accidents can also be put to productive use.