Transport operators in Accra have cautioned their drivers against indiscipline and reckless driving, especially during the Christmas and New Year festivities, or face sanctions, including suspension and dismissal.
According to the operators, the decision to go hard at indisciplined and reckless drivers was to help reduce and, to a large extent, prevent road accidents, which have become a regular feature of such celebrations.
Also, the operators said they had instituted monitoring measures to check the use of hard drugs by the drivers.
In one of the separate interviews the Ghanaian Times conducted in Accra yesterday, the Manager of O.A Travel and Tour, Mr Opoku Agyemang, said as part of the measures to ensure discipline in driving, long distance drivers had been taken through rigorous health screening exercise to ensure they were in good health.
“The drivers have been screened for good eyesight, fatigue, high blood pressure and other health issues. This is part of measures we have undertaken to ensure a zero-tolerance for accidents during the Christmas and New Year festivities,” he added.
The measures, he said were aimed at protecting lives and property of those who patronised their services during the festive season.
“We are determined to protect our passengers from road accidents before and during the Yuletide. We have cautioned our drivers against the use of hard drugs and reckless driving and we have lined up severe sanctions for any driver caught in the act of indiscipline on the road,” Mr Agyemang added.
He stated that although the measures were already in place, they had been intensified ahead of the Christmas festivities, which usually see a lot of travelling, to protect travellers and drivers at all costs.
He further said the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) and the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) occasionally holds forums for operators of transport companies to educate them on all road signs and the role of drivers in promoting road safety.
Asked if there were enough buses available during the period, he answered in the affirmative, explaining “we have lot of buses to transport all travellers to their destinations across the length and breadth of the country to their various destinations in absolute safety.”
The Head of Neoplan Branch No. 4 at the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange transport enclave, Mr Emmanuel Akwesi Antwi, said speeding and wrongful overtaking were the main causes of road crashes, which “we always caution our drivers to guard against.”
He called on the police to intensify road checks to ensure drivers operate within the rules and did not put the lives of passengers in danger.
He further cautioned drivers against the use of mobile phones while driving, adding that “the proper thing to do is to switch off the phone while driving so that as a driver, you can concentrate and drive passengers safely to their destination.”
A driver at the 2M Express station at Odawna, Nana Yaw Amponsah, advised drivers to prioritise lives and property while driving, adding that “we should at all times remember we all have families waiting for us at home.”
A passenger, Grace Appiah, who was waiting to board a bus to Kumasi, advised passengers to avoid engaging drivers in unnecessary conversations, but rather allow them to drive quietly and safely.