National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) in collaboration with the Accra and Kumasi Metropolitan Assemblies have launched a road safety mass media campaign to help reduce speeding among drivers.
The campaign, titled “Surgeon” is aimed at curbing the increasing cases of road crashes in the country and is being supported by Vital Strategies and the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS).
It is expected to run for six weeks on TV, radio, social media and out-of-home media outlets and focus on the enforcement of the speeding regulations to motivate drivers to adhere to speed limits and save lives.
Mr Kweku Ofori Asiamah, the Minister of Transport in a statement after the launch stressed the need for all road users to be committed to ensuring crash-free Christmas festivities.
He called on transport operators and unions to implement the basic operational standards and guard against reckless driving behaviour during this season.
“I urge all road users and duty bearers to keep up the good work throughout the festive period and beyond. There is a responsibility for all of us to be committed to ensuring a crash-free Christmas.
“I call on transport operators and unions to demonstrate commitment to saving lives by implementing basic operational standards and be each other’s keeper and promote a strong road safety culture.”
The NRSA on its part expressed its commitment to enact data-driven actions to save lives, adding that the campaign, coordinated with enforcement efforts, was one of the strategies used to address speeding and urged all drivers to adhere to the posted speed limit signs.
“While we have seen some progress in the reduction of road deaths, much more still needs to be done. We urge all drivers to follow posted speed limits to put an end to these senseless tragedies,” it stated.
The statement said the quest to reduce road crash deaths on Ghana’s roads calls for concerted efforts among stakeholders stressing that “a mass media campaign, along with strong police enforcement is needed to reduce speeding which is a risky road behaviour to help bring about this change.”
It revealed that during the campaign period, the police would be on the streets to enforce speed limits and would penalize violators in accordance with the road traffic regulations.
The “Surgeon” campaign was developed based on national and local data and rigorous research into what messages resonate with those who tend to exceed speed limits in Ghana, the statement added.
