A media campaign that seeks to prevent road crash fatalities in the Greater Accra Region was launched in Accra yesterday.
Christened, “School Girl”, the initiative aimed to make Accra a safe, smart and resilient city free of road traffic deaths. It was launched by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly and Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS).
Among other things, AMA and BIGRS, together with the Department of Urban Roads, Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service would collaborate to ensure the campaign becomes successful.
The four-week mass media campaign comes at a time when the AMA and BIGRS had presented sophisticated gadgets including speed detection devices, lifeloc alcohol breath analysers to MTTD to enable them better enforce traffic regulations.
With the launch of this mass media campaign, Accra has now joined ten other cities across the globe that are already running similar initiatives under the Bloomberg funded project.
Launching it, Metropolitan Chief Executive of Accra, Mr Mohammed Adjei Sowah said AMA and BIGRS were committed to ensuring drivers reduced speeding which had been identified as a major cause of carnage on the roads.
He said road safety was a shared responsibility and urged the law enforcement agencies to ensure recalcitrant drivers and pedestrians were dealt with in accordance with the law.
The AMA boss noted that loss of lives through road accidents were avoidable, if road users adhered to the law, and appealed to drivers and other road users to be cautious as their actions could cause accidents.
Mr Osei Kufour AMA and BIGRS Programme Coordinator said police personnel and metro guards were trained to enforce traffic regulations; in addition, rain coats, vests, traffic cones, police directional signs and directional batons were donated to the MTTD.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Mr Fosu Ackaah, the Commander of Accra Central MTTD said he was optimistic that the project would bring to an end the age-long menace of road accidents.
Mrs Sylviane Ratte, Director of Road Safety, Vital Strategies, called for attitudinal change if the city was to win the fight against indiscipline on the roads.
Mrs May Obiri Yeboah, Executive Director of National Road Safety Authority said she was not only concerned about the scary statistics on road crashes but the cost and pain parents go through at the loss of loved ones.
BY MALIK SULLEMANA
