Road Transportation still remains the major means of transport in Ghana. However, the sector is saddled with many safety challenges making our roads unsafe and susceptible to preventable road traffic fatalities and injuries.
Data compiled by the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service puts the total number of commuters killed in road traffic accidents in 2021 at a record 16.37% jump over the figure for 2020. More men than women perish in road crashes with some being pronounced dead on arrival at health facilities.
Among the challenges with injuries from road accidents are delays in transporting road accident victims to nearby health facilities and lack of knowledge in handling such victims or administering first aid that could buy victims more time before reaching a nearby hospital.
Statistics show that Ghana loses up to $230 million every year treating injuries and traffic fatalities and loss in productivity.
Despite the presence of these agencies and the implementation of their programs in Ghana, road accidents and human causalities are still on the increase. The number of road accidents in 2021 was alarming with over 2,126 deaths as of the 3rd quarter of the year.
It is against this background that the Universal Consultancy Ltd (UCL Ghana) and partners in the road transport sector are developing a Telematic Road Safety Program (TRSP) to ensure safety on Ghana’s roads and reduce drastically the spate of road accidents and human casualties.
The Progressive Transport Owners Association (PROTOA) Ghana on Wednesday, January 26th took the lead to launch the Telematic Road Safety Program (TRSP) facilitated by the Universal Consultancy Ltd (UCL Ghana) for all members of the transport union including drivers, vehicle owners, other road users among other stakeholders at Aflao in the Ketu South Municipality of the Volta region. Features of the TRSP which is being piloted include:
• The creation of Passenger Manifests at all On-boarding commercial stations (VIP, VVIP, AA, STC, GPRTU etc.) to provide information on the identity of all travelers and next of kin.
• Mounting of telematic speed-limit devices on all commercial vehicles (as directed by the NRSC).
• Verification of status of driver licenses before vehicle take-off (G-STRP) system has direct interface with DVLA
• Verification of the health of drivers (including breathalyzer test) before vehicle take-off
• Ensuring that all commercial vehicles (doing more than 300 Km per journey have an accompanying licensed spare-driver)
In a interview with ghananewsonline.com.gh during the launch of the pilot program, Benjamin Agorsu Katsekpor, national chairman for PROTOA said it was the hope of the union that the program will improve the relationship between drivers and passengers through the “Know Your Passenger” (KYP) module through E-ticketing, creation and registration of E-passengers, documenting information on the identity of all travelers and their next- of- kin.
Mr. Katsekpor said all these data collection will help to trace accident victims and broken down vehicles in transit adding the system will also facilitate and fast track the transporting of accident victims to nearby health facilities to save lives.
According to Mr Katsekpor, PROTOA’S Digitalisation efforts aims at presenting commercial opportunities for drivers, passengers and cargoes . It will also makes work easier for the service provider and consumers because accessibilty of such services will be made easier for potential clients.
A representative of UCL Ghana, facilitators of the program, Nana Kofi said the Telematic Road Safety Solutions (TRSS) will develop corresponding technologies in full swing and simplify repetitive and time-consuming tasks, which will help transport companies to transact business regardless of proximity. The program he said will also enable transport Unions and for that matter PROTOA have access to complaints on drivers and passengers on driver-card data immediately – even while drivers are still on the road. “That means that it’s possible for them to meet legal documentation requirements much more efficiently and in a much shorter time than previously”.
By Hebrews Pouyeli Kumako & Nelson Ayivor| Ghananewsonline.com.gh
