NRSA, MTTD & BIGRS CONDUCT JOINT STAY ALIVE ROAD SAFETY EDUCATION & ENFORCEMENT
published: Jan. 18, 2024, 3:37 p.m.
The Director in-charge of Research, Monitoring and Evaluation at the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), Martin Owusu Afram, Esq. acting in the stead of the Ag. Director-General, Ing. David Osafo Adonteng and in the company of the Director-General of the Motor Traffic and Transport Department of the Ghana Police Service, COP Francis Ebenezer Doku led their teams on a joint Stay Alive Road Safety Education and Enforcement outreach across the southern sector of the country.
The week-long exercise was conducted on the N1, N6 and N5 highways. The joint exercise was such that as officers of the MTTD conducted speed assessments with the aid of the LTI 20/20 TruCAM II, officers of the Authority engaged drivers and passengers with road safety education. The LTI 20/20 TruCAM II is a traffic and speed enforcement laser camera with video functions, and were donated by the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS).
The TruCAM II collects speed measurements and all pertinent data for oncoming or departing vehicles, as well as measures the speed and maintain a chain of evidence until the rear license plate of the vehicle is captured.
According to data available at the Authority, speeding is one of the leading causes of crashes within the country. The Authority in conjunction with the MTTD and BIGRS embarked on the speed enforcement and education to ensure motorists respect the road traffic regulation on speeding.
The exercise got down to business on the N1 at Gomoa Okyereko and Mankessim (along the Accra-Cape Coast highway). Twenty-three (23) offending drivers (including thirteen (13) private and ten (10) commercial vehicles) who were driving above the posted speed limits, were apprehended and processed for court.
On the N6, the team based camp at Nkawkaw. Here, twenty-five (25) drivers were apprehended and processed for court. These included seventeen (17) private and eight (8) commercial drivers.
On the N5, at Sokode-Etoe, near Ho, twenty-eight (28) drivers were stopped. At this location, however, the exercise took a lenient turn with offending drivers being cautioned and discharged.
At all these locations, the offending drivers and their passengers were taken through vigorous road safety education and additionally presented with road safety educational materials.
The Director-General of the MTTD admonished some offending drivers for their recklessness and advised them to obey all road traffic regulations in order to save lives on the road.
The Director for Research, Monitoring and Evaluation at the Authority was also of the view that if the exercise was sustained and extended nationwide, it will lead to a significant number of lives saved on the road, as speeding was a leading contributor to crashes in Ghana.
COP Doku was accompanied by the Director of Operations – MTTD, Dr. Samuel Sasu-Mensah and the Director of Research and Education – MTTD, Chief Supt. Alexander Obeng.
GALLERY
