National towing project begins in May
A private company, the Road Safety Management Service Limited (RSMSL), has received the green light to implement a national towing project in May this year.
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The project is a scheme developed by the RSMSL and its partners to remove broken-down or abandoned vehicles on the road.
As part of the programme, the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC), the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) and the Ghana Police Service will team up and work to ensure that broken-down vehicles are towed within an hour or two, depending on the location.
That is expected to curb the increasing spate of deaths caused by disabled or broken-down vehicles.
Addressing the media in Accra to begin a month-long pilot of the project, the Operations Manager of RSMSL, Mr Kwadwo Osei, said more than 80 towing trucks would be deployed to all the 10 regions “when the project commences in May.”
“Our towing vehicles are all ready and in good shape. Our drivers are well trained for the project. On May 1, this year, we will commence the project,” he said.
Challenges addressed
The project, which was supposed to have started in 2013, faced challenges because of the inability of the NRSC to give the go ahead for its implementation.
Although an agreement was signed between the RSMSL and the NRSC in 2013 to roll out the project, after the initial fanfare, the project stalled.
But Mr Osei said those problems had all been solved and that the company had been given the green light to commence the project on May 1, 2017.
“The problems that occurred at the initial stages of the project have been solved. Our partners, NRSC, DVLA, the Ghana Police Service are all on board to start the project,” he said.
Explaining the essence of the pilot programme and how it would be done, Mr Osei said the exercise was just to announce that the company was ready to start the project.
He said the pilot programme would target some parts of Accra and the Ashanti Region, adding that towing trucks would be positioned at the motorway roundabout and the Tetteh Quashie interchange.
"We will also cover Mallam and Kasoa and position some of the towing trucks at Amasaman, Suhum and Konongo-Odumasi in the Ashanti Region," Mr Osei said.
Accident figures and impact
In the first three months of 2017, provisional figures from the Motor Transport and Traffic Directorate (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service indicated that the number of road accidents was 2,890.
Compared to last year during the same period, there was an increase of 50 accidents.
About 436 deaths and 2,523 injuries have also been recorded.
Concerning accidents on the roads, the Communications Manager of RSMSL, Mr Roland Walker, said 22 per cent of deaths recorded through road accidents in Ghana were as a result of broken-down or disabled vehicles.
He mentioned a former Member of Parliament for Akwatia, Dr Kofi Asare, who lost his life when he ran his vehicle into a broken-down vehicle on the Nkwakaw stretch early this year.
Asked about the modalities of the project, Mr Walker said it would be made known to the public during the official launch in May.