Kumasi: The Ghana Standards Authority is preparing to introduce new regulations to bring order to vehicle conversion garages across the country, as authorities clamp down on unapproved workshops operating without oversight. The move follows growing safety concerns, particularly surrounding Toyota Voxy vehicles, many of which have been converted from right-hand drive to left-hand drive under questionable conditions.
According to Ghana Web, the issue came to light during a government-led review into the safety of such vehicles. The findings revealed a worrying trend: numerous garages are carrying out conversions without any formal accreditation or monitoring. Kwasi Agyenim-Boateng, Ashanti Regional Director of the National Road Safety Authority, emphasized the lack of accreditation and oversight. "We have the Vehicle Standardisation Committee, a committee led by the Ghana Standards Authority and made up of other stakeholders, including the DVLA and the Road Safety Authority. They have been able to develop the vehicle standard for the country. But after this Voxy issue, we have come to realise that a lot of unaccredited garages are there doing their own thing without anybody checking them," he said.
His concern extends to the absence of a consistent benchmark guiding the work of these garages, raising questions about the safety of the vehicles they modify. "Even those who do the conversion, by what standards do they measure the conversion? What yardstick do they use?" he asked.
To address the gap, the Ghana Standards Authority is working towards introducing specific standards to govern vehicle conversions. The goal is to improve safety and ensure accountability when incidents occur. "In future, there will be standards developed for those who want to convert vehicles, so that in case of a crash, it would aid us in traceability. We would be able to trace the specific garage that did the conversion on a specific vehicle," he mentioned.
Beyond technical concerns, authorities remind the public about what qualifies as long-distance travel under Ghana's road safety laws. Regulation 195 of L.I. 2180 classifies any journey exceeding 100 kilometres as long-distance travel. "Someone might even ask what long distance is? If you take a look at the Road Traffic Regulations, L.I. 2180, Regulation 195, it says that any journey exceeding 100km is classified as a long journey," he explained.
The renewed push for regulation follows the National Road Safety Authority's (NRSA) public advisory on April 13, warning against the use of Toyota Voxy vehicles for long-distance travel, especially those that have undergone structural conversion. The caution is based on findings from a Technical Working Group set up by the NRSA to investigate safety risks associated with both the conversion process and the use of such vehicles on Ghana's roads.
As part of a broader response, the NRSA is collaborating with key institutions, including the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority, the National Insurance Commission, and the Motor Traffic and Transport Department.