PFor the umpteenth time, Ghanaians woke up to the news of another ghastly accident which has claimed the lives of more than 80 people in two separate road crashes.
This time it involved two buses on the Kintampo-Techiman Highway and about three vehicles on the Winneba-Takoradi road.
It was reported that the accident which occurred at Amoma-Nkwanta, near Kintampo in the Bono East Region, was a result of a head on collision between an Ankia VVIP bus from Accra to Bolgatanga and a Kia Grand bird bus travelling from Garu in the Upper-East Region to Kumasi.
While one of the buses got burnt completely after the crash,
the other had one of its sides completely mangled and dislocated from the front
side to the posterior.
Some of the passengers, we now know were
incinerated in the blaze that engulfed the bus. Others got badly burnt and are
on admission in hospitals.
Each bus carried more than 50 people and those
who survived are also in critical conditions at the Techiman and Jema
Government Hospitals.
Reports reaching the Ghanaian Times indicate that, the Ghana National Fire Service was on hand to quench the fire and retrieve the dead bodies from the mangled and burnt car to the mortuary.
Unfortunately,
with conversations of the ghastly accidents yet to be exhausted, we heard
another road crash, involving a Yutong bus from
Takoradi to Accra and a Metro Mass Transit Bus from Accra to Diaso in the
Central Region colliding with a Cargo truck which was attempting to overtake
the vehicles but run into a speed ramp on the Winneba-Takoradi road that claimed
10 lives on Thursday.
Over 70 others are also said to be in critical
condition following the gory accident.
The injured were rushed to the Winneba Trauma Hospital, Apam Government Hospital and the Mankessim Catholic hospital.
The Ghanaian Times is horrified by these crashes that continue to claim lives and destroy properties.
From January to November last year, statistics from the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) indicates that 12,396 road crashes were recorded with 2,118 fatalities, 12,318 injured and 20,082 vehicles involved.
Other estimates show that Ghana loses over 230 million dollars yearly due to road accidents. The loss correlates to 1.7 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product.
These accidents are avoidable if drivers were to observe road traffic regulations.
We therefore call on the Ministry of Transport and its agency, the NRSC to intensify its regulations and sensitisation of drivers and passengers to regulate the behaviour of motorists and highlight the effect of these carnages on the roads in the country.
All these efforts would be fruitless if the Motor Traffic and Transport Department of the Ghana Police Service do not enforce the road laws to the letter.
It is time we all acknowledged that road accidents are claiming productive lives more than ever and that we all have a role to play if we are to reduce these accidents on our roads.
