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The Vision for Alternative Development (VALD), a civil society organisation into health, has called on road users, especially commercial drivers to be extra careful during the yuletide season.

It said the various forms of road crashes which had resulted in serious fatalities in just this December, in the country are unimaginable whilst leaving families and loved ones in shock and despair.

The VALD made the call in a statement signed by Mr Labram Musah, the Programmes Director of the organisation, to wish Ghanaians happy Christmas and prosperous New Year.

The statement urged commercial bus commuters to report reckless drivers at the next police check point or at the main transport terminals.

“We are aware that, there are instances where some passengers encourage drivers to speed and intimidate those who complain of over speeding and reckless driving."

The VALD advised drivers to gather courage to ignore such passengers and focus on getting home alive and sound “as we join forces together to save lives on the road”.

The organisation commended the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service and the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) for the good work they are doing to ensure sanity on the roads.

It appealed to the Head of the MTTD to deploy more of its staff on the roads, saying that the visibility of the police deters notorious drivers and encourage compliance with laid down road safety measures.

“This is the time to hold constant meeting with the leadership of the various transport unions in Ghana to remind them of basic road procedures such as over speeding, drunk driving, seat belt use, adherence to rest hours, among others,” the statement said.

It said according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Global Status Report on Road Safety 2015, more than 1.2 million people die each year on the roads, with millions more sustaining serious injuries and living with long-term adverse health consequences.

“Globally, road traffic crashes are a leading main cause of death among young people from 15-29 years,” the statement said.

It said the WHO report highlighted that the situation was worst in low-income countries, where rates were more than double those in high-income countries and there was a disproportionate number of deaths relative to the (lower) level of motorisation.

The VALD urged Ghanaians to grab a copy of the Road Safety Regulations, 2012 (LI 2180), to be abreast of road safety issues in Ghana.

“Road safety should not be left with only the Ghana Police and the NRSC; but rather it should be a collective work, which must concern all us if we want to reduce road traffic accident,” statement noted. 

“Drive safe and save a life,” it said.