By: Michael Eli Dokosi
Barely 72 hours after a speeding vehicle killed a resident on the Medina-Adentan stretch, another person has lost the life on the stretch, this time an elderly woman at Adentan SDA.
According to an estimate 190 deaths have been recorded on the highway as pedestrians battle with speeding vehicles.
Deputy Communications Minister, George Andah was also involved in car crash on over the weekend when his vehicle collided head-on with another vehicle in his Awutu Senya West Constituency where he had come to honour social calls.
Mr. Andah together with three others, sustained injuries requiring they be airlifted to the 37 Military Hospital in Accra for emergency care. The Deputy Minister is meanwhile responding to treatment. A sand truck according to eye witnesses was the vehicle the minister’s car had the collision with.
With a notable figure nearly losing his life, Members of Parliament want the Transport Minister Kweku Ofori Asiamah to appear before the house to brief the legislature on Ghana’s road situation. First Deputy Speaker of parliament; Joseph Osei Owusu gave the minister 2 weeks to brief the house.
For Dr. Godfred Dankwah, a road and transport expert; Ghana’s road crashes are chiefly as a result of speeding and drunk driving with bad roads accounting for a marginal 4%.
He stressed: “In 10 years, road deaths recorded in Ghana have been as a result of crashes and not accidents. People cause about 67% of the road crashes due to over speeding, tyre bursts and failed brakes which are all attitudinal factors.”
Residents in the Medina-Adentan area have called on relevant authorities to complete the foot bridges which have been left uncompleted to facilitate movement and avoid the situation where pedestrians run across the road to get to other parts but Mr. Dankwah reckons cars don’t over speed by themselves, reason for which attitudinal change is key.
This article has been updated.
