The Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) has urged drivers to take extra care during the Christmas season.
According to the GPRTU, they have constituted a team to conduct a thorough check of Drivers and vehicles that ply the road within the various terminals. The National Executive Member and a communication team member of the GPRTU, Eric Nii Asirifi called on the Motor Transport and Traffic Directorate (MTTD) and the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) to monitor activities of drivers on the road. Eric Nii Asirifi in their sensitization program with the NRSA at the Taifa station added that the GPRTU and NRSA have played their part in awareness campaigns highlighting the dangers of over speeding, drunk driving and driving without wearing seat belt the onus was now on each individual driver to be cautious.
He said by being cautious, drivers could help reduce the number of accidents. Eric Asirifi said the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Police Service will be embarking on an enforcement exercise during the Christmas holidays.He said the enforcement is aimed at ensuring that drivers strictly adhere to all road safety requirements and regulations to curtail road crashes in the country before, during and after the Christmas festivities. According to him, since road safety was a shared and collective responsibility, passengers ought to play their part by wearing seat belts whenever they boarded vehicles. The National Executive Member advised drivers to show high level of professionalism during and after the Christmas festivity. He said it was important for drivers to regard their profession as one of the most important life-saving one, that ought to be taken more seriously because any act of misconduct would not only tarnish the image of the driving profession but lead to preventable deaths.
Speaking to Vision1 FM Kofi Yesu after the sensitization program at Taifa, Eric Asirifi said the time had come for the drivers to let their skills bear on the discharge of their duties just as medical doctors do to save lives at the hospital, adding that the issue of road accident could be minimized by being extra vigilant in their performances. Some drivers also pledge to be disciplined when driving in other to save lives during and after the Christmas celebrations.