Transport Minister, NRSC Meet Commercial Road Transport Operators in Kumasi

The Minister ofTransport, Hon. Kwaku Ofori Asiamah and the National Road Safety Commission, onMonday, 9^th September 2019, met with commercial road transportoperators in Kumasi, to deliberate on measures to control the widespread roadaccidents in the country.

The gathering which washeld at the Asafo VIP Bus Terminal was aimed at creating a forum for transportoperators in Kumasi to meet and share their concerns to the sector Minister andalso detail some findings made after two separate studies by the National RoadSafety Commission (NRSC).

In her welcome address,the Executive Director of the National Road Safety Commission, Ing. MayObiri-Yeboah, highlighted that each year, about 10,000 road accidents occurresulting in 2,000 fatalities, 14,000 injuries and 6,000 serious injuries.

According to Ing. Obiri-Yeboah,as at 30^th August 2019, the Ashanti region had recorded 296 deathsand 1,960 injuries, meanwhile the region recorded 399 deaths and 2,985 injuriesin the entire 2018.

The Board Chairman of theNational Road Safety Commission who also chaired the meeting, Rev. IsmailaHansmittson Awudu revealed that the commission had rolled out a refreshercourse to train and certify 13,000 commercial transport drivers in the country.According to him, “6,000 drivers in Accra and Tema will be trained and issuedwith certification, while the same will be done for 4,000 and 3,000 drivers inthe Ashanti and the remaining regions, respectively.”

The Director of VIP JeounTransport Limited in the Ashanti region, Mr. Yaw Amponsah Marfo said that theyare against the Ministry of Transport’s directive to commercial vehicleoperators to secure emergency exit doors on their vehicles. According to him,they have special agreements with the manufacturers of the vehicles andmodifying the vehicles would cause legal and additional financial challengesfor them.

“The threats from thegovernment are not helping to resolve issues and if they insist on enforcingthe directive, we will halt our operations for one month,” he admonished.

Superintendent EmmanuelAdu Boahen, the Ashanti regional Motor Transport and Traffic Directorate (MTTD)Commander said that the Ashanti region records 10 accidents each day, whichalso results in 11 injuries and at least 2 fatalities.

Speaking on behalf of the24 transport unions in the region, the Chairman of the Ghana Private RoadTransport Union (GPRTU) at Asafo Neoplan station, Mr. Thomas Obeng reproachedthe city authorities for not checking and stopping the erection of unauthorisedspeed bumps by private individuals on our roads. According to him, “most ofthese unauthorised speed bumps are too high and also does not normally have anyroad signs to warn drivers, and this cause accident.”

Concernsby commercial transport operators

Representatives from thevarious transport unions voiced their concerns ahead of the speech by thesector Minister.

The Ghana Road TransportCoordinating Council (GRTCC) Representative said that “poor billboard locationnear some parts of the roads distracts drivers and cause road accidents as someare placed at positions that block the view of drivers.”

He added that, eventhough road signs and road markings are provided to guide drivers and improvesafety on our roads, most of them have either vanished or are barely visible,respectively.

In a concern to theKumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), he stated that the opening of new lorrystations along major roads causes traffic congestion, as according to him, the“drivers operating in those stations sometimes occupy parts of the main road.”

Another Representativehighlighted their concerns in the delays on the opening of the newlyconstructed Kejetia lorry terminal. He quizzed that “when will the new Kejetialorry terminal be opened for commercial road transport operators?”

According to him,commercial road transport operators get arrested by security officials forstopping and picking passengers at unauthorised areas in the Central BusinessDistrict of Kumasi.

Voicing his concerns,another Representative bemoaned the very high number of MTTD of Ghana PoliceService check points on our roads.  Hestated that most of them have completely been abandoned by officers, whichcould make drivers commit traffic offences as well as cause road accident.

In a suggestion to cityauthorities to solve the congestion problem in the Central Business District, adriver said that “city authorities should consider relocating the KumasiCentral Prison building to provide space for a new lorry terminal.”

Similarly, aRepresentative of the Ghana Haulage Drivers Association, Mr. Amadu Garibaindicated that city authorities have not provided parking spaces for theirheavy motor vehicles.

The Ashanti regional Headof Operations of Intercity STC Coaches Limited, Mr. Lord Inusah Lansahbelieves, there should be a data collection mechanism put in place to checkaccident records of drivers before they are allowed to operate vehicles. “Thosewith bad accident records should not be allowed to drive and cause more harm,”he said.

Commenting on broken downvehicles on the road, another Union Representative said, cars that have brokendown on our road should be promptly towed away to prevent road accidents. “TheKMA should be given tow trucks to tow vehicles that break down on our roads andthe owners of the towed vehicles should pay a fee to the Assembly before theirvehicles are released,” he said.

Other stakeholders thatwere present at the meeting include the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority(DVLA) and the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly.

Studiesby the National Road Safety Commission

The National Road SafetyCommission has researched two critical areas contributing to the road safetysituation in the country. The first study focused on ‘Speeding to Determine theLevel of Travel Speed in Ghana’ and the second looked at the ‘Scale andMagnitude of Safety among the Three High Risk Road-user Groups: Pedestrians,Passengers and Motorcyclists.’

The study found that,excessive speeding commonly referred to as over-speeding is widespread inGhana, as 82% of motorists do not comply with speed limits on urban roads. Onthe national highways, the figure is 94%.

The Commission alsorevealed that while Accra topped the regional capitals exceeding speed limitsby 88%, followed by Bolgatanga with 67%, Tamale with 57%, Takoradi with 56%,and Wa with 40%, Kumasi had the lowest speed which stood at only 30%.

According to the study,the percentage exceeding speed limit distribution by urban highway include:Private 78%, Taxi 44%, Minibus 65%, Large Bus 48%, Trucks 20%, Motorcycle 9%,and 0% for tricycle.

Even though the studyalso looked at problems related to passengers, pedestrians and motorcyclists,the general factors blame driver error as the highest cause of accident involvementat 93%, while roadway defects and vehicular defects accounted for 34% and 12%respectively.

Addressby the Transport Minister

According to theTransport Minister, Hon. Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, the National Road SafetyCommission has now been elevated to the status of a full Authority and as aresult consultations with appropriate stakeholders have begun to enact newregulations for its activities.

“As a Ministry, we arenot here to impose decisions but to dialogue with you, as part of efforts toimprove services and road safety,” Hon. Ofori Asiamah told the commercialtransport operators.

In an action to boostroad safety, the Transport Minister disclosed that road inspectors will betasked with checking and ensuring commercial transport operators on our roadhave received refresher training and certification from the National RoadSafety Commission.

Responding to some of theconcerns by the commercial transport operators, he said, the directive totransport operators to ensure that buses travelling long distances hademergency doors was formed as part of the ministry and relevant authorities’effort to enforce transportation laws and ensure safety on our road. However,the Minister clarified that the directive was “targeted at old vehicles withoutemergency exits and installations.”

Hon. Kwaku Ofori Asiamahadmonished lorry terminal operators to close down drinking bars situated insidetheir stations or risk having the entire terminal closed down by stationinspectors of the National Road Safety Commission.

“Drivers are the centerof transportation, as a result they will be checked and those who abuse drugswill be punished,” he warned.

Ghana, according to theTransport Minister does not currently have any laws that permit and regulatethe operations of tricycles commonly called “Aboboyaa” and “Pragia,” however,he said consultations have begun to revisit the laws and enact new regulations.

Callfor continued deliberations

The Otumfour Asenhene androad safety advocate who also co-chaired the meeting, Nana Yaw Akuoko calledfor more consultations between stakeholders to improve the transport sector andensure decrease in road accidents in the country.

Nana Yaw Akuokochallenged “authorities to enforce regulations on seat belts and ensure thatthey are fitted in vehicles before licenses are issued and in additioncommercial transport operators should make sure passengers wear them.”

“Road safety should be aconcern for everyone in the country,” he advocated.