Guinness Ghana commended for drink driving education

Commercial drivers and stakeholders have commended Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited (GGBL) for its drink-driving education programme.

The annual programme is an initiative of the GGBL to highlight and inculcate responsible drinking among drivers to prevent road accidents and injuries that are associated with driving under the influence of alcohol.

The closing ceremony took place at the Achimota bus terminal, where a section of drivers and management of the bus terminal, as well as officials from the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) and Organisations, were in attendance.

The NRSC was represented by Mr Kwame Kodua Atuahene, its Communications Manager, at the ceremony of the fifth edition of the programme dubbed Twa Kwan no Mmom. He
commended the GGBL for the steps taken over the years to reduce the incidence of drinkdriving and alcoholrelated accidents in the
country.

He said it was worth noting that a company that produced alcoholic beverages would take steps to discourage drink-driving and commit resources to  discourage the practice
among commercial drivers.

The Corporate Relations Director at GGBL, Mr Gabriel Opoku-Asare, said the company was committed top a r t n e r i n g stakeholders in the road safety space to ensure safety on
Ghana’s roads.

“During the sixweek campaign, we worked with the Police MTTD to enforce the legal drink-driving limits. A total of 27,226 breathalyser tests were conducted on commercial drivers at eight major bus
terminals in the Greater Accra, Ashanti and Central regions”, he said.

Mr Opoku-Asare, therefore, called on drivers to make a conscious effort to stay away from drinking while driving so as to reduce road accidents and injuries attributed to driving under influence.

“Throughout the campaign, we recorded impressive behavioural change and compliance by drivers. This, we believe, is as a result of the continuous education conducted for drivers at the bus terminals,” he added.

Commendation from drivers

Drivers from the Achimota Bus Terminal commended the GGCL for extending this programme to their bus terminal and added that it had highlighted some of the dangers associated with drinking and driving.

Mr Kwasi Amankwah, a driver, recounted how the programme had helped him change his attitude of drinking and driving.

“I used to drink and drive at some point but through the education sessions conducted by the University of Ghana Medical School, I turned a new leaf,” he said.

Another driver, Mr Kofi Bentum, said he had taken part in the past four editions of the programme because of the education he got from them and commended GGBL for such an
initiative.

Drivers who had successfully undergone three different breathalyser tests were rewarded.