Accra: The National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) has cautioned road users, particularly drivers, against distracted driving before, during, and after the Easter festivities. Mr. Felix Owusu, Planning Manager at the NRSA’s Greater Accra Regional Office, revealed that distracted driving remained one of the leading causes of road crashes, hence the need to avoid it.
According to Ghana News Agency, the Planning Manager gave the advice on Monday during an in-traffic road safety education session at the 37 Intersection and Lorry Station in Accra. Distracted driving occurs when a driver’s attention shifts from the road to other activities, such as texting, answering calls, chatting with passengers, or focusing on external distractions while in motion.
The campaign, dubbed ‘Know Your Road Signs,’ was organized by the NRSA Greater Accra Regional Office, in collaboration with the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD). The NRSA team engaged drivers and commuters through the display of printed versions of road signs and line markings for identification and education. They also checked vehicles for unapproved lamps, in line with Regulation 65 of the Road Traffic Regulations.
Mr. Owusu expressed concern over the low literacy on road safety signs and markings among road users. ‘From our observations, only about 20 per cent of the people could correctly identify the signs. That’s worrying. This is not our first time; we carry out similar exercises at terminals, on TV, in churches, and in schools to promote road sign literacy,’ he said.
The Authority has intensified education, inspections, and enforcement as part of activities lined up for the Easter season to reduce crashes on highways. ‘We started last week with visits to some terminals whose vehicles travel from Accra to other regions. We conduct pre-trip inspections to assess the roadworthiness of vehicles, check service quality, and verify if drivers are qualified to operate the vehicles they use,’ Mr. Owusu added.
Enforcement has also been strengthened, with teams positioned at vantage points along highways to ensure compliance with road traffic regulations during the festivities, particularly regarding speed, wrongful overtaking, alcohol-impaired driving, and overloading.
Mr. Owusu highlighted the Authority’s nationwide campaign to remove unauthorized lamps from vehicles and expressed concern about the tampering of road signs by individuals who pasted posters, altered positions, or removed them to create space for structures. He called on local assemblies to scrutinize permit requests to prevent obstruction of traffic signs.
The Planning Manager emphasized the use of logbooks for vehicles operating inter-state journeys, traveling more than 500 kilometers or over eight hours. ‘Logbooks help track driver identity, registration number, point of departure, destination, time of departure, and expected time of arrival,’ he explained.
He urged all categories of road users, including passengers and pedestrians, to play active roles in road safety. ‘Passengers should speak up when drivers engage in dangerous behaviors, and pedestrians must be cautious when using roads. Statistics show that a significant number of road fatalities involve pedestrians.’
Drivers who participated in the sensitization exercise thanked the NRSA for the education, while others expressed concerns about the lack of adequate road signs and billboards obstructing visibility of existing ones.