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Ghana intensifies efforts to reduce alarming road carnage

Xinhua, April 3, 2017 Adjust font size:

Ghana will roll out a national towing project to reduce the alarming rate of motor accidents in the country, an official said here on Monday.

The pilot project, which is expected to start on May 1, is aimed at removing broken-down vehicles from the roads to avoid accidents, as most accidents are caused by these abandoned vehicles, Roland Walker, Communications Director of the Road Safety Management Services Limited (RSMSL), told local media.

The program will see the RSMSL and its partners teaming up to ensure that broken-down vehicles are towed within an hour or two, depending on the location.

Road accidents have become one of the leading causes of death in Ghana.

More than 500 persons were killed in 2,890 motor accidents in Ghana during the first three months of this year, according to figures from the Motor Transport and Traffic Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service.

There are fears that the figures will rise with the Easter festivities on the horizon, a period that is noted for recording high incidence of road disasters.

Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo has bemoaned the spate of accidents and causalities that have characterized Easter celebrations over the years and urged the citizenry to make this year's celebration see a drastic drop in the number of road accidents and fatalities.

"Everyone should observe the rules of the road, and make this Easter the best in terms of a reduction in accidents and causalities on our roads. It is a major concern of mine. Help me make this a reality," he told a gathering of transport operators in Kumasi, Ghana's second largest commercial city over the weekend.

The RSMSL plans to deploy over 100 tow trucks for the project and will be complemented by other facilities to ensure effective monitoring of the roads.

"When the final project rolls out in May, we are going to launch ambulances equipped with paramedics and some basic first aid equipment to attend to injured people on the highways," Operations Manager of the RSMSL told Joy FM, a local radio in Accra. Endit