Editorial
The carnage on our roads must stop!
State agencies are doing what they can to advise people on the need to obey motor traffic regulations so as to avoid needless accidents.
Unfortunately, all these pieces of advice have fallen on deaf ears and the carnage on our roads continues unabated.
Precious lives are still being lost while a number of people keep sustaining serious injuries some of which make them permanently disabled. This development is not pleasant and must be corrected within a short time.
The Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service, is doing all it can to educate motorists on what is expected of them.
Similarly, the National Road Safety Commission is also working hard to reduce accidents and improve the situation.
In spite of this, the accidents on our roads keep increasing. When the Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr Amoako Attah, stated among other things that despite of the construction of good roads in the country, there was the need for people to observe traffic regulations, this was given a negative interpretation by certain people.
As a nation, all sections of the society need to be serious and work hard towards making our roads accident-free. This is what we can all do to preserve precious lives and prevent the needless maiming of people through road accidents.
The pains experienced by families and the nation through loss of precious lives have become unbearable.
As a result, every effort must be made to reduce the carnage on our roads. The Spectator is of the view that the MTTD must be more rigid in the application of motor traffic regulations to deter others from getting involved in this unpleasant experience.
In the same way, the National Road Safety Commission, must also increase their education efforts, while the law courts ensure that maximum penalties, if possible, are imposed on traffic offenders.
Motorists must also regularly maintain their vehicles and obey speed limits together with observing other traffic regulations.
We believe that we can all help to reduce motor accidents if we play the respective roles expected of us.
Dear Editor,
I write to appeal to the Metro Mass Transit Limited (MMTL) to put some of their buses on the Kasoa–Circle route to ease the challenges passengers face every day.
It might interest you to know that going to and from Kasoa is no child’s play. Sadly, it appears we have been left to our fate and at the mercy of greedy ‘trotro’ drivers who employ various tactics to extort money from passengers.
One of the means they usually employ is that at the station, they’ll tell passengers they are not going to Kasoa. However, when you join these vehicles, they take passengers to a point and start calling for new passengers to a different destination. It continues like that until they reach Kasoa. At all the new stops, they collect fresh fares from passengers.
So, it is not true that they are not going to Kasoa — the only reason they do that is to take more money from passengers.
By this behaviour, one ends up spending about GH¢20 for a journey that should cost around GH¢11, and the same amount on the return trip.
This behaviour also results in long queues at the stations at night, giving robbers and pickpockets a field day as they mingle with passengers struggling for transport and end up stealing from them.
I want to plead with the Metro Mass management to put buses on this route to reduce the inconvenience we go through after a day’s work.
The management could also devise ways to make their operations more convenient and reliable, and must consider setting specific times so that passengers would know when buses arrive and when they depart.
Kwesi Pino
Kasoa
Join our WhatsApp Channel now!
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBElzjInlqHhl1aTU27
Dear Editor,
I write with deep concern about a safety hazard and the dangers commuters are exposed to, especially those who walk in the area at night.
Along one of the busy roads in the capital — the Neoplan Station stretch of the ‘Accra Dubai’ road — lie several culverts with their metal coverings removed, leaving behind gaping holes that endanger everyone who uses the stretch.
It is a danger to commuters who walk around the area. As a regular visitor to that area, I find it very disturbing. In fact, a gaze into the drain can make one feel dizzy — it is very deep.
These are very common sights from the Railway Crossing area to the Awudome Cemetery area, bringing to the fore the activities of scrap dealers who are mostly blamed for the disappearance of the coverings.
They are dangerous and easy to miss. Children walking to school, the elderly, and even motorists risk serious injury if nothing is done.
This is not just a matter of inconvenience; it is a matter of life. We have seen too many cases where a simple oversight leads to irreversible harm.
A child could fall in. A motorcyclist could swerve and crash. A pedestrian could be injured in the dark. These are preventable tragedies, and we must treat them as urgent.
We cannot wait for disaster before we act. I urge the relevant authorities to inspect such areas, replace missing covers, and prioritise public safety. A simple fix today could save a life tomorrow. Let’s not look away — let’s fix what’s broken before it breaks someone.
Kelvin Acheampong
Dansoman
Join our WhatsApp Channel now!
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBElzjInlqHhl1aTU27
