Who Cares About Road The Bloody Roads ?

Last week saw probably the most deadly vehicular accidents in some parts of the country.

The issue assumed frightening proportions over the weekend when other gory road accidents claimed several lives raising road safety concerns in the country once again.

On September 15, 2020, some 14 passengers died after a cargo truck crashed into two buses at the Kyekyewere Community stretch of the Accra to Kumasi Highway.

That aside, over 50 other passengers who were injured in the accident which occurred around 5:30 am last Tuesday are currently at the hospital battling their lives.

Just as that the nation was about getting over that shock, other accidents struck at Offinso in the Ashanti Region, Somanya in the Eastern Region and Lougri near Walewale in the North East Region, all in a spate of 24 hours.

In total, 13 people, mostly children and teenagers, including a policeman, lost their lives in the three major accidents while others sustained serious injuries.

In the Ashanti Region, six young footballers died on the spot while several others are battling for their lives after a Pregio mini bus they were travelling on crashed.

Six teenagers, who are all Colts players, died on the spot and the incident caused heavy traffic jam on the Kumasi-Offinso highway.

In the Eastern Region, four persons, including three children, met their untimely deaths in a gory accident at Somanya, the municipal capital of Yilo Krobo.

In the process, 24 passengers sustained injuries and were rushed to the Atua Government Hospital for medical treatment.

However, four passengers were pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.

In the North East Region, a policeman, Lance Corporal Ernest Oteng, died in a fatal road accident involving a Tamale-Bolga bound Kia Grand Bird bus with registration number AS 9634-20.

Again, just last week, a Burkinabe registered articulated truck loaded with flour caused serious accident in the same Eastern Region leaving about 14 people dead.

Shortly, after the incident, another claimed seven lives at Gomoa Adam, near Gomoa Anteadze on the Accra-Cape Coast highway.

The accident involving a Ford Transit and a Toyota Hiace left several others injured.

THE NEW PUBLISHER can continue cataloging several road accidents mostly gory ones that have claimed precious lives shattering the dreams of many if not most children whose parents were suddenly killed in these carnages.

Most a times, these accidents are caused by the negligence of the drivers and the non-adherence of simple road-traffic regulations.

Recently, there were talks of some anti-speed devices to be fixed on commercial vehicles to help control some of these deaths.

That as usual has remain a mere talk shop while innocent souls continue to die on our roads.

The paper is particularly worried over how the upsurge of road accidents with its accompanying casualties are gaining notoriety in the country lately.

In just about two months, we will enter the Christmas mood with its expectant travels, making us wonder if authorities- the Motor, Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD), the National Road Safety Commission and their allied organizations will only do little and watch citizens perish on the road.

This paper is of the fervent hope that those who matter will arise and up their game to make the road a safer place for all.