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Dropping to his knees with arms raised to the skies, Tsawoe Innocent Kofi could not believe when he was announced as the “Overall Best Driver” for the 2019 Ghana Driver & Road Safety Awards season.

Tsawoe, a commercial driver and member of GPRTU at the Madina Station held his own against about 2000 drivers through a four-stage screening and selection process and beat 41 finalists to emerge victorious.

He drove away in a brand new Suzuki Alto salon vehicle as the grand prize. His responsibilities for the next one year will include road safety campaigning at commercial transport terminals throughout the country.

Other Winners

Several other drivers won awards at the event in addition to Tsawoe. Mr Albert Domi, member of the Accra chapter of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), won the Intracity category while Mr Owusu Yaw Albert Andrews, a driver with the Kumasi Haulage Transport Union, grabbed the prize for the Cargo/Haulage category.

Also, Mr Geoffrey Dordzi, a member of the Kumasi Concerned Transport Union, was awarded as the  Best Taxi Driver for the year while Ms Ruth Naa Adoley, an Uber driver, and Mr Jacob Egbadzor, a driver with the Golden Tulip Hotel in Accra, emerged as the Best Tech-Hailing Cab driver and Best Corporate driver of the year, respectively.

Other individuals and Corporate organisations were also recognised on the day for their contributions to the transport sector and road safety

Two female drivers with the Metro Mass Transport, Atta Benedict and her twin sister, Sefa Benedicta, were among the six female commercial drivers recognised at the event while Mr Charles Ntim, a long standing road safety advocate, was also appreciated for his advocacy.

Three corporate organisations- Citi FM/TV, Guinness Ghana and 1st Sky Group- were also acknowledged at the ceremony for their efforts in promoting road safety in the country.

The Motivation for the Awards

The Ghana Driver & Road Safety Awards, a programme focused on a “Ghana Beyond Road Traffic Crashes” agenda, uses rewards, driving skills refresher training, and driver behavioural training to promote road safety in Ghana. Drivers also receive free eye-sight checks and general health screening as part of the in-station activations. The year-long programme is organised by the GDRSA Foundation with the endorsement and support of the National Road Safety Authority and the backing of the Ministry of Transport, Driver & Vehicle Licensing Authority, MTTD of Ghana Police service and the various organised driver bodies in Ghana. The grand finale event came off at the forecourt of the State House on Thursday, November 21 in defiance of the rains. Delivering the key-note speech, the Minister of Transport, Hon. Kwaku Ofori Asiamah pledged the government’s commitment to keep Ghanaians safe so that the productive energies of all citizens could be deployed towards the “Ghana Beyond Aid” agenda.

 2020 and beyond

 Madam Freda Frimpong, Director of Partnerships of the GDRSA Foundation, assured the patrons and supporters of the programme that the Foundation will deliver an even more impactful programme in 2020 and the years ahead. She expressed appreciation to GOIL, Ghacem, Enterprise Insurance, Vivo and all the other supporters of the programme for their commitment to road safety in Ghana.

On her part, the Director General of the National Road Safety Authority commended the organisers for the impressive work done over the two seasons of the programme. She assured them of the Authority’s continual support to ensure that the programme grows to impact drivers across the length and breadth of the country.