<<Print>>The National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) is to commence the relocation and removal of unauthorised billboards along roadsides on September 1, this year, to enhance visibility and reduce road crashes.
A taskforce that comprise the NRSC, Ghana Standard Authority (GSA) and the Advertising Association of Ghana (AAG) has been set up to carry out the exercise.
According to the commission, billboards must be deployed at the appropriate place and also made of the appropriate materials to prevent obstruction visibility, especially during late hours.
The Executive Director of the NRSC, Ing Mrs May Obiri Yeboah, made this known during an interactive session with the media at the launch of the National Road Safety Awards (NRSA).
She said standards had been developed to address the location of billboards and added that the springing up of billboards across the country was a nuisance.
5th NRSA
The fifth NRSA, scheduled to be heid on November 13, 2015 at the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel, is on the theme: “Recognising good practices that enhances road safety”.
The award, which was instituted in 2010, is to celebrate and recognise institutions and individuals whose contributions continue to impact road safety positively.
It was also setup to encourage best road safety practices among commercial transport operators.
There are six competitive categories, and three new categories have been added: best road safety-oriented basic school, youth ambassador for road safety and the best driver award.
Other categories are the passenger and freight category, best road safety journalist award, best commercial passenger transport category and best haulage transport.
Road crashes
Launching the awards ceremony, Ing Yeboah noted that road traffic crashes were responsible for an average of 2,000 deaths annually.
She said the situation impacted negatively on the economy and affected tourism, national image, health bill and stretched the health infrastructure.
The sad reality, she said, was that these crashes were avoidable, if some diligence was done in the maintenance of vehicles and only roadworthy vehicles were on our roads.
Ing Yeboah stated that there was the need for minor road works to be done on some roads without waiting till they became potholes or death traps.
With the awards, she said the commission expected operators to intergrate safety policies and standards in their operations for a reward or recognition.
“Compliance with safety standards has been observed as low, particularly with passenger and freight operators and with the award we expect to develop a new sub-culture that prioritises the safety of road users”.
The Director of Planning and Programmes at NRSC, Mr David Osofo Adonteng, called for support from corporate organisations to ensure the success of the awards ceremony.