250 Commercial drivers undergo defensive training
Over 250 drivers of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) have undergone a three-day defensive driving training workshop in Kumasi as part of efforts to curb preventable road accidents.
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The initiative, dubbed: “My Road Safety, My Life” is a road accident awareness programme being spearheaded by Vivo Energy Ghana, distributers of Shell products and services in Ghana, and supported by the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC).
As part of the training, three sets of Alcoholmeters were presented to the GPRTU for use at selected lorry terminals to randomly check drivers before they are allowed to start their vehicles.
The participants were each presented with a certificate at the end of the training.
Over 1,000 accident emergency number tickets were also distributed to drivers in the region to be pasted on their vehicles so that they could easily access emergency points anytime something untoward occurred on the roads.
The Managing Director of Vivo Energy Ghana, Mr Ebenezer Faulkner, gave an assurance to the general public that the company was not interested in making profits but only also concerned about securing the well-being of drivers and all road users through education.
In an address read on his behalf by the Corporate Communications Manager, Mrs Shirley Tony Kum, he called on all commercial drivers to join unions to have a strong voice in order to be given the needed recognition and assistance.
Road Safety
The Ashanti Regional Manager of the NRSC, Mr Samuel Obeng Asiamah, charged drivers to see it as an obligation to themselves and the nation to drive passengers to and from their destinations safely.
He said just the first quarter of this year, 80 persons in the region had perished through road accidents, saying those tragedies could have been avoided if drivers were extra vigilant.
Law-abiding
The Atwima Afranchohene, Nana Osei-Nsiah Akodampah, who chaired the workshop, tasked drivers to obey all road regulations to avoid preventable accidents.
He told drivers to bear in mind that once they flouted any rule on the roads, its repercussions could not be reversed.
Welfare
The Head of Health, Safety, Security and Environment of Vivo Energy Ghana, Mrs Esi Defor, said that some major practices that were killing many on the roads were fatigue and the lack of concentration by which she attributed to the ceaseless use of mobile phones whilst driving.
She noted that tiredness was a natural phenomenon which happened once one did an activity for long hours and that the only way out was for the drivers to take enough rest in order to reach their destinations safely.
Acknowledgement
The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the GPRTU, Nana Nimako Bresiamah, commended the organisers for such an educative programme and urged the drivers to go out and practise what they had trained on to help save precious lives.
The three-day workshop was facilitated by the Drivers and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service, and the Ghana Red Cross Society.