President elect of the Ghana Institution of Engineering, Ing Kwabena Bempong, has shared concern over the rate of road carnages in the country.
He explained that in as much as drivers must be cautioned against reckless driving, road safety is founded on 4 key elements which need to be applied simultaneously to protect Ghanaian lives.
According to him, these 4 key elements of road safety are; Engineering, Education, Enforcement and Emergency Services.
Taking on the engineering, he indicated that although engineers are doing their best, “I won’t say all is well because there are a bit of lapses sometimes. We do our work, we are supposed to add safety elements like road markings, road signs and others but we sometimes don’t do this and put road users at risk.” He added that the refusal and delays in maintaining roads cause carnages. “When we don’t fix potholes, cars in their attempt to dodge potholes may collide into oncoming traffic and that becomes a challenge.”
Sharing the importance of education, he urged drivers to put in the effort to attend certified driving schools and keep themselves abreast with road signs, warnings and markings which largely tend to prevent road accidents.
To him, enforcement means authorities must make sure road regulations are respected to the latter. He argued the incidence of reckless driving and driving under the influence have become rampant. To him, these behaviors reduce the reaction time of drivers, a major cause of road accidents.
Sharing his thoughts on the theme; ‘Improving Ghana’s road infrastructure through sustained innovative technical and financial engineering’ on the Happy Dialogues series with host Don Kwabena Prah, he added, “the car is a machine and has no mind of its own so if the machine is faulty and the driver refuses to repair it, it can either kill the driver or an innocent bystander.”
Ing Kwabena Bempong explained the importance of the emergency services and their response time urged them to be prompt and put in measures to prevent road accidents. “Where cars are abandoned or parked can cause road accidents. This is where enforcement comes in and the Police must lead this.”
He also indicated that driver unions are vital in the enforcement element. He advised them to ensure their drivers never driver under the influence and always make sure their cars are roadworthy. “This advice goes to the emergency services and the road safety unit.”
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