Mr David Osafo Adonteng, acting director-general of the National Road Safety Agency (NRSA), has hinted at reconsidering the use of the Sprinter and some other minibuses to carry passengers if the scourge of road accidents persists.
He said the spate of avoidable road crashes involving such vehicles was appalling as some drivers blatantly disregarded road traffic laws, particularly along the Takoradi-Cape Coast-Mankessim-Accra highway.
In the process, drivers often raced as fast as they could along that stretch of road, risking the lives of passengers and other road users.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency over the weekend, Mr Adonteng expressed sympathy for the victims of the road accident and their families and expressed the determination of the authorities to contain the threat.
After visiting patients admitted to the Winneba Trauma and Specialist Hospital, he expressed his sorrow over the death of seven passengers in a bloody crash on Thursday night at Gomoa-Antseadze near Apam, Gomoa West, Central Region.
He was accompanied by Ms Pearl Adosu, Head of Public Relations for the Authority, Ms Linda Affotey Annang, Head of NRSA Central Region and Assistant Superintendent Beatrice Smith-Koree, Director of Motor Traffic and Transport at Mankessim.
Fourteen people were involved in the accident, seven of whom died on the spot and seven others were injured, including a baby.
The accident involved two Sprinter minibuses traveling from Takoradi and Mankessim to Accra. On reaching Gomoa-Antseadze, one from Takoradi tried to overtake another bus at top speed but veered off the road and ejected into bushes, trapping many people.
“We know what they’re doing on the road, we’ve alerted them, given them notice and warned them, but if they continue to misbehave and take people’s lives for granted, then we have no choice but to invoke our enabling laws.” , Mr Adonteng said.
“We are taking firm action with the backing of the Road Safety Act (Act 933) and the Legislative Instrument (LI). We have the means and I am sure we will do it in the coming days when we return to Accra Make a policy decision for consideration by the Department of Transportation.”
He urged drivers and road users to obey basic road safety signs to reduce road accidents.
Drivers must check the condition of their vehicles before hitting the road and try not to drink and drive, he added.
Mr Adonteng interacted with some of the relatives of the deceased at Mankessim Police Station and Mercy Women’s Hospital, as well as Winneba Trauma and Specialist Hospital.
He interacted with the family of DJ Ato Kwamena, 34, who boarded a vehicle bound for Gomoa-Antseadze from Ayensudo near Elmina but died in an accident at the destination.
He also expressed his sympathy to the relatives of Mr Solomon Agyare, 25, a driver-partner on a Sprinter bus, who is married with a son.
Agyare was a commercial driver and when his vehicle broke down, he joined the Sprinter bus as a buddy to earn some income. He is from Asante Akyem Amantia but lives in Kasoa.
Source: GNA
