January Accidents Claim 123 Lives

One hundred and twenty-three lives have been lost through a total of 539 road accidents in the month of January, 2011 alone. 518 people suffered varying degrees of injuries with the total number of vehicles involved in the accidents put at 764. The figures were provided Friday by the head of the Motor Transport and Traffic Unit, ACP Angwubutoge Awuni at a press conference in Accra. According to him, 80 of the accidents were fatal; a situation he said cannot be allowed to continue. He explained that majority of the accidents were caused by human errors by the drivers with just a few attributable to the weather and mechanical faults. The police administration is therefore waging a crusade to fight lawlessness on the roads. Director of Police Public Relations, Superintendent Kwesi Ofori told Joy FM, careless and lawless drivers as well as corrupt police officials will be the target of the crusade. He explained that his outfit will embark on a comprehensive public education of drivers and other road users. As part of the policy, the police administration will liaise with union leaders to educate drivers at the various stations. He said snap checks will be intensified to ensure road traffic regulations are adhered to. On the issue of corrupt police officials who extort money from drivers, Superintendent Ofori said the administration will impose stiffer sanctions and tribunals against them and proceed to the courts where there are criminal elements and practices involved.