The Ministry of Transport in collaboration with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), the National Roads Safety Authority (NRSA) and the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service has organized a National Consultative Forum on Road Traffic crashes and review of the road traffic regulations 2012, L.I. 2180.
The National engagement was held after a two-day stakeholder engagement had been held to seek views of stakeholder on the specific sections of the regulations to be reviewed.
The Road Traffic Regulations as passed by Parliament 9 years ago in July 2012, was to give effect to the enforcement of the Road Traffic Act 2004, (Act 683) which replaced the 1974 Road Traffic Regulations (LI 953), of which significant provisions had been implemented and enforcement still ongoing.
That notwithstanding, some of the provisions were yet to be implemented due to identified technical and legal deficiencies associated with them, while there were also emerging practices in the road transport industry that had necessitated the need for the review to control potential adverse repercussions and also adopt international best practices in making the roads safer.
The Minister for Transport, Mr. Kweku Ofori Asiamah, speaking at the National Consultation Forum said over the years of implementation, a number of measures had been introduced to give effect to the regulations, like the reforms in the driver licensing administration with the introduction of the new Driver Licensing System (GeneSys) and a new Vehicle Registration system (VRS). These had led to a new work flow and reduction in fraudulent practices as well as revenue leakage.
Also worthy of note was the introduction of the Securitized Roadworthy Certificate to facilitate enforcement, increased funding for the National Road Safety Authority to scale up road safety programmes and activities, and the nationwide training programme for commercial vehicle drivers.
The Minister mentioned despite the interventions, it had become necessary more than before to introduce new provisions in line with development trends, changing social norms and values and to ensure conformity with International Conventions and the ECOWAS protocols on road transport.
He said the Consultative Forum was in two folds. The first was an opportunity to dispassionately discuss the issues on road safety and the second being to recommend practical measures to Government for adoption and consequent implementation.
Hon Ofori Asiamah reiterated road traffic crashes were responsible for an average of six deaths daily and over 10,000 injuries yearly. Majority of these victims he noted, were within the economic bracket (18-years to 60-years) which had serious consequences on our growth and socio-economic development as a Country.
He revealed it was in line with this worrying trend that in April this year, H.E the President constituted an Inter-Ministerial Committee to assess the road safety situation and recommend measures to reduce fatalities on our roads.
The Minister said, “recommendations of the Committee was that, both the Road Traffic Act, 2004 and the Road Traffic Regulations 2012 which were the primary governance legislation for the road transport sector were had to be reviewed, leading to the stakeholder consultations and the National forum being held to seek views on the identified sections to be reviewed.
He added Government had also enhanced the mandate of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) with the passage of the NRSA Act 2019, Act, 993 to ensure compliance to road safety measures, procedures and guidelines. Other Agencies like the Police and the National Ambulance Service were all being retooled to improve enforcement and emergency response.
The Minister added, the Ministry was collaborating with the Ministry of Communication and Digitalization to introduce guidelines for the safe operations of motorcycles used for Courier Services in the country.
He said through the dialogue, “we hope to gain insight on a full range of issues affecting the road transport industry and solicit your invaluable inputs to ensure that we have a comprehensive and robust framework that will stand the test of time for the consideration of Cabinet and Parliament”.
He implored all present, policy makers, regulators, drivers, pedestrians, vehicle owners, operators and passengers road safety was a shared responsibility in making the transport system safe, therefore all should bring to bear their expertise in making the review successful and comprehensive.
