Road Safety Consultant, Dr. Godfred Akyea Darkwa, says business operating permit requirements for road transport business especially for long distance travel should be made stringent to help reduce the carnage on the roads.
He said the current system where transport owners operate freely without proper regulation contributes to the increasing carnage on the roads.
Speaking on GBC’s Current Affairs programme, “Focus”, Dr. Akyea Darkwa said it is compulsory by law for transport operators to train their drivers once a year but that is not been done.
Again, the law requires all long distance buses to have co-drivers but this is not been adhered to. Dr. Akyea Darkwa also blamed the DVLA for failing to comply with its own regulation which mandates anyone renewing his/her license to provide a certificate of a refresher course taken during the year.
He said if all these regulations are adhered to, it will reduce the human errors which contribute to the numerous road crashes in the country.
Deputy Director, Planning and Programmes at the National Road Safety Commission, Daniel Wuaku said the commission and the DVLA have rolled out a refresher training course for all commercial drivers. He also urged the DVLA to make it mandatory for any driver renewing his/her license to provide a certificate of a refresher course he/she had taken.
A Civil Engineer, Ben Arthur, said though the road environment is a contributory factor to road crashes, indiscipline on the road by drivers is a bane to road safety.
