The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) has announced plans to make the Volta Region a model road safety area by June next year.
The Regional Director of the authority, Rowland Coffie Dorkenoo, said in an interview in Ho last Friday that there was already a growing and phenomenal compliance with traffic regulations among motorists and that was reassuring that objective was achievable.
He said the transport sector was contributing tremendously to the local economy, saying road safety was necessary to maintain and increase that trend.
Traffitech-GH
Further, Mr Dorkenoo said the soon-to-be-introduced Traffitech-GH system, which would allow the police to use hi-tech modern cameras to capture the speed of vehicles on the roads and collaborate with the DVLA to identify the violating vehicles, would mark a new era of effective enforcement of traffic regulations.
He said the electronic issuance of a notice of violation to the driver would ensure swift punitive responses from the law.
Meanwhile, Mr Dorkenoo said the DVLA in the region received a total of 1,662 driving licence applications between January and June, while 1,930 people were tested to be issued with fresh licences, upgrades and rider licensing in the same period.
He said the authority also renewed 4,389 licenses and replaced 2, 098 expired and missing ones during the period.
Registration
Mr Dorkenoo said 4,459 vehicles were registered during the first half of the year, with 4,119 vehicle ownership changes processed in the first half of the year, far beyond the expected 3,398.
In the area of roadworthiness, he said 3,426 applications were processed during the period.
Mr Dorkenoo intimated that the financial performance of the regional DVLA saw a 47 per cent rise this year from last year’s figure, stressing that the DVLA would pursue its vision to reduce accidents on the roads with massive and vigorous education campaigns and collaborate with other stakeholders, including the National Road Safety Authority and the Motor Traffic and Transport Department to ensure effective compliance with road regulations.
He urged drivers to make sure their vehicle documents were valid all the time.
Galenkui Hill accidents
On the recurrent accidents involving trucks descending the Galenkui Hill to Ho-Bankoe, Mr Dorkenoo attributed the trend to the overloading of vehicles and the steep slope.
He said the construction of speed humps and the avoidance of overloading, as well as adherence to speed limits, would help to reduce the worrying spate of accidents on the way.
