The Swedru branch no.2 Chairman of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), Mr. John Yapah Cromwell has said the high incidents of road accidents in the country must be blamed on floating commercial drivers, and not on the nature of the roads.
According to him, most of the accidents that occur, according to their research, are commercial floating vehicles that do overlapping on the road.
He disclosed that drivers of these floating vehicles do not belong to any of the transport unions, and as such, are not binded by the rules and regulations of such unions.
Reacting to the increased cases in road accidents in the country in recent times, the GPRTU chairman pointed out that these drivers, in their quest for passengers consider every commercial vehicle on the road as in competition, thereby driving hapharzadly, posing danger to other drivers and road users.
He noted that whereas drivers belonging to a union undergo strenuous checks every day by the station master before their vehicles are loaded, these overlapping drivers, most of whom are not even licensed, sometimes drive under the influence of alcohol and other hard drugs, thereby showing total disregard for road safety regulations, and in the process involving in accidents.
Though the GPRTU chairman Mr. Cromwell admitted that the poor nature of roads in the country could also be a contributory factor to accidents, he however stressed that that is insignificant.
He noted that even when the roads are asphalted, drivers would still overspeed, forgetting that they are moving with a machine that can develop mechanical fault at any point in time and therefore get involve in an accident.
Though he commended the police MTTD for doing a lot to ensure the reduction of road accidents in the country, he however stressed that more needs to be done by scrupulously checking the license of every driver on the road, including private cars.
He later applauded the concept of the introduction of CCT cameras on the roads, saying that that will go a long way to help check recalcitrant drivers on the road and also help reduce accidents.
Agona Swedru is noted for its high traffic congestion which creates a lot of nuisance in the town.
But this, the GPRTU chairman attributes to overlapping drivers who load at the trunks of the road, as well as long vehicles that park on the already narrow roads to offload goods.
He hinted that the attention of the police has been drawn to the problem and a joint task force comprising the GPRTU, PROTOA and CO-OPERATIVE has been formed to deal with the situation by arresting such overlapping drivers.
He later advised owners and would-be car owners to desist from demanding high sales from their drivers, depending on the year of registration of the vehicle, as drivers ofV such vehicles often rush to meet the demand, which could also cause accidents in the process.
By Robert Ayanful