Street Sense Organisation (SSO), a road safety advocacy group, has donated 1,015 reflective vests worth GH₵35,000 to the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service in Accra yesterday.
The contribution by the group was aimed at facilitating the work of MTTD personnel and promoting traffic management.
The national co-ordinator of SSO, Mr Samson Oddoye, presenting the reflective vests expressed worry over the recent ‘knockdowns’ of police personnel on the road by drivers, saying, “the visibility of personnel in management of traffic was crucial.”
He said road traffic management was a collective responsibility, and called on stakeholders to partner the police to ensure road safety.
Mr Oddoye said the vest have inscriptions such as ‘don’t drink and drive,’ ‘no helmet no ride’ and ‘don’t drink alcohol and drive’ to educate the public on best road safety practices.
He gave the assurance that SSO would continue to assist the police in ensuring that roads were safe for commuters.
Mr Oddoye commended the MTTD personnel for their dedicated service in ensuring safety even at the expense of their lives.
He urged drivers to abide by the road safety regulations by avoiding speeding, wrongful overtaking and drunk driving, to protect lives and properties.
“Eighty per cent of road accidents in the country were results of human errors, drivers must abide by road safety regulations,” Mr Oddoye added.
The Director-General of the MTTD, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Francis Aboagye Nyarko, who represented the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr George Akuffo Dampare, said the vests would ensure visibility of personnel and promote safety on the road.
DCOP Aboagye said the vests came in at the right time to assist MTTD personnel carry out their work, adding that the uniforms would be distributed to personnel across the country.
He said the police would continue to check road traffic offences and that offending drivers would be arrested and prosecuted to serve as deterrent to others.
The Director General commended SSO for supporting the MTTD carry out its mandate, and appealed to other corporate organisations and philanthropists to support the police in ensuring road safety.
BY ANITA NYARKO-YIRENKYI
