PARTIES PLEDGE TO ENSURE ROAD SAFETY 07/05/08 (Pg 48)

Story: Kofi Yeboah
POLITICAL parties in the country have pledged their commitment to a draft Road Safety Code to ensure that road accidents are minimised during the 2008 election period.
The need for the parties to adopt the code follows statistics from the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) indicating that road accidents increased during the two immediate past election years.
They made the pledge yesterday at a forum organised by the NRSC to discuss the draft Road Safety Code for the parties.
The code provides guidelines on the need for the political parties to plan their journeys, check the road worthiness of their vehicles, monitor the condition of their drivers and other critical issues that relate to road safety.
The forum was attended by representatives from nine political parties, namely, the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the People’s National Convention (PNC), the EGLE Party and the Democratic People’s Party (DPP).
The rest were the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP), the National Renaissance Party (NRP), the Reform Patriotic Democrats (RPD) and the Ghana National Party (GNP).
Statistics from the NRSC indicate that road accidents rose from 8,762 in 1999 to 11,007 in 2000 and again increased from 10,542 in 2003 to 12,175 in 2004.
The statistics further indicate that 60 per cent of road accidents are caused by speeding, while the economic cost to the nation is estimated at $165 million, representing 1.6 per cent of the gross domestic product.
The NRSC believes that the increase in road accidents during election years is due to the fact that road safety regulations are flouted with impunity by political parties during their campaigning.
The essence of the forum was, therefore, to lobby the leadership of the political parties to exert their influence on their followers with respect to obeying road regulations during the electioneering to reduce road accidents.
It also provides an opportunity for the NRSC to know the vision of the political parties on road safety in the country.
Regional road safety co-ordinators will hold similar fora with the leadership of political parties in the regions to discuss how best to implement the code, taking into consideration local circumstances.
The acting Executive Director of the NRSC, Mr Noble Appiah, said one of the challenges facing the country was the lack of commitment and dedication in implementing programmes and activities.
He expressed the hope that “all political parties will support the implementation of the Road Safety Code so that it does not become a mere document”.
Mr Appiah cautioned that posterity would not forgive them if they failed in their duty to collectively implement the code.
The Chairman of the NRSC, Mr Cliff Johnson Aboagye, said he was happy with the commitment expressed by the political parties to the code.
He said the NRSC was concerned about some of the road designs in the country, which he described as “too awful”.
He cited the Mankessim stretch of the Accra-Cape Coast Road which had more than 30 ramps, saying such a road design was “a matter of concern to the commission”.
Mr Aboagye said about a week ago, the NRSC invited road engineers to discuss how best to address those issues.
The representatives of the political parties expressed concern about the spate of road accidents in the country and called on all to join hands in the campaign to minimise the trend.
One major concern expressed by the parties was the roundabouts constructed on the new Kumasi Road, describing them as death traps.
They called on the authorities to do something about the situation, while urging the law enforcement agencies such as the police to strictly enforce road safety laws and regulations.