Commuters, drivers, motorbike (Okada) riders in Kpassa and Damba in the Oti Region have appealed to the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) to improve safety on the roads to prevent accidents which have become a major problem on roads in the region.
They identified the lack of appropriate road signs on some of the major roads in the region, which normally led to preventable accidents, while the non-existence of road signs on some were factor they said were a recipe for accidents which must be prevented.
Speaking separately in an interview at Kpassa, the capital of the Nkwanta-North District and Dambai, the regional capital of the region, Mr Jacob Adu, a driver said he has been plying his trade as a driver on Kpassa-Sibi-Damanko road for the past 15 years without accident.
But explained that, the road which was without road signs currently served as death trap as drivers and motorbike riders usually crashed because of the nature of the road, and added that most of the accidents occurring involved mainly first time drivers who were not familiar with the road which led to loss of lives.
Another driver, Mr Sumilah Inussah said there were communities and schools along the road from Kpassa to Damanko and cattle also normally cross the road which had no signs to guide drivers over the years.
Another driver at Dambai, Mr Ben Aforduanyi who plies Dambai-Kete-Krachi route said although the road was in good shape, it also posed a threat to life, due to the absence of road signs to control the speed and provide other safety information to drivers even though there were schools and communities along the road.
The Volta Regional Director of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), Ms Joana Fafa Ayer acknowledged the concerns of the drivers and said they had genuine concerns because road safety did not only consider the human and mechanical factors alone, but also involved the road furniture, which included appropriate road signs that would create a safe environment to prevent accidents.
Ms Ayer explained that road signs served as effective communication for drivers and other road users, and said signs on the road indicating for example that ‘’you are approaching a town, reducing speed, hospital or schools, a curve and pedestrian crossing’’ among others all helped to prevent accidents.
The Director assured the drivers that her outfit would collaborate with road safety partners including the Ghana Highways Authority and the Department of Feeder Roads to provide the needed signs on the roads to promote safety and reduce accidents on the roads.
FROM SAMUEL AGBEWODE, KPASSA