
Nii Annang Adzor, Regent of Ashaiman

The Regent of Ashaiman, Nii Annang Adzor, has urged all drivers across the country, especially those within the Ashaiman municipality, to be mindful of the lives of passengers, and eschew acts of recklessness which often result in casualties.
Compliance with road safety rules, he noted, will enable both driver and passenger to arrive safely at their respective destinations, and contribute to national development.
He was speaking yesterday during an interview with Daily Statesman on measures aimed at combating the carnage on roads and ensuring that the country does not continue to lose her precious human resource in the fourth quarter.
Nii Annang Adzor believes Ghana has promising human resource who can contribute their quota to national development. However, he said, the challenges include negligence and recklessness on the part of some drivers, which often cut precious lives short.
Conscientised
According to him, when traditional leaders join the call in constantly reminding drivers of what the society demands of them, it would go a long way to conscientise them on the need to be cautious while plying the country’s roads.
“The manner in which some drivers take alcohol before going behind the wheel, or overtake even when there are quite a number of oncoming vehicles approaching, and subject the passengers to a state of danger, and yet blame government when eventually people die out of their recklessness, is alarming,” he bemoaned.
He commended road safety actors and stakeholders for their sustained programmes, adding that the onus lies on drivers to drive with human lives in mind.
“We cannot continue to apportion blame when the root cause of this menace emanates from the quarters of reckless drivers and you expect the whole nation to continue to remain in misery because you chose lawlessness,” he warned.
Collaboration
Nii Annang Adzor stressed that opinion leaders must collaborate with the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) in efforts to sensitise drivers on defensive driving and the need to observe road signs, obey traffic regulations, avoid over speeding and overtaking etc.
“One of the major activities of opinion leaders is to avail themselves and fight positively in the interest of their subordinates, and certainly collaborating with the NRSA is a sure way of bringing the fatalities to the barest minimum. This will ensure that more stringent measures are taken against any driver found culpable of any traffic regulations in the country. That way, discipline will be instilled,” he stressed.
He urged the Motor Transport and Traffic Department (MTTD) to intensify road checks on drivers in order to help in efforts towards curbing this menace.
“The police owe it a duty to the nation to discharge their roles with Ghana in mind. They must consistently demand licences from drivers, check fire extinguishers, tail lights, trunks, wipers, windscreens to ensure that vehicles on our various roads are road worthy. That way, the nation can gradually be on top of matters when it comes to road safety. Accident is no respecter of persons; we shouldn’t forget that,” he reminded.
Nii Annang Adzor further admonished passengers to stop sleeping the very moment the vehicles move, and act more responsibly by calling drivers to order in the event that they suspect any act of recklessness.