84 Die In First Quarter Of 2014

EIGHTY-FOUR people died through 322 recorded road accidents in Brong-Ahafo in the first quarter of 2014, statistics from the Brong Ahafo Regional Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) has stated. The accidents, which involved 439 vehicles, left 467 people with various degrees of injury, Brong Ahafo Regional Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD), Commander of the Ghana Police Service, Supt. Daniel Oppong Asirifi disclosed this to the Daily Heritage in Sunyani. He said in the first quarter of 2013, 152 recorded road crashes killed 68 people and injured 221 others in the region noting that, the road crashes are on the increase because most drivers do not adhere to road traffic regulations and therefore the increase in accident cases requires a collaborative and radical approach from all stakeholders especially in the area of road safety education. Supt. Daniel Oppong Asirifi stated that, the (MTTD), alone could not shoulder the responsibility of road safety education and that all road users and pedestrians had roles to play. He noted that human error continued to remain the major contributory factor to road crashes and advised motorists to be extra careful on the roads. �The erection of illegal speed rumps was identified as a major cause of road crashes in the region. Apart from this fatigue driving, drunk driving and the use of mobile phone were all identified as causes of road crashes in the Brong Ahafo Region,� he said. He revealed that interference from some prominent personalities in the region is affecting the implementation of the road traffic regulations because when they arrest people who flout road regulations, these people call his outfit to free such culprits. Supt. Daniel Oppong Asirifi added that the rate at which road crashes are claiming lives is unacceptable therefore his outfit conducted checks in the municipality and noticed that out of the 100 drivers they checked, 37 were not having license. Therefore he has intensified a very serious operation to flush out unlicensed drivers. He, however, appealed to all the stakeholders to join hands and fight against thes preventable road accidents on our roads.