Road Safety Company Launched

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*To tackle road accidents

STORY: NEWS DESK REPORT

Vice-President, John Dramani Mahama, yesterday launched Road Safety Management Limited (RSMSL), a private company, in Accra with a call on public and private road safety institutions to effectively enforce road safety rules and regulations in the country.

The company, which is expected to generate over 4,000 jobs for the youth, he said, is a collaborative initiative between the Ministries of Transport and Finance & Economic Planning, National Road Safety Commission (NRSC), Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) and the Motor Transport and Traffic Unit (MTTU).

Additionally, Mr. Mahama noted that the company, “which is a wholly-owned Ghanaian firm specialised in road safety management through the use of electronic traffic, security and safety solutions, will build rest stops on all the major roads. This is being done in collaboration with the relevant Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs).”

This step, according the vice-president, will go a long way to minimise perennial road accidents and its attendant carnage on the roads.

He lamented over the high rate of road accidents in the country, stressing that “road accidents alone account for over 1,800 deaths annually in the country.

It was along this line that the vice-president said government has taken steps to construct and upgrade major and minor roads in the country.

Earlier, in his welcoming address, the General Manager of RSMSL, Air Commodore Dery, said the company is set to start operations, amid high prospects for job creation for thousands of Ghanaian youth.

According to him, the company will pursue a multi-faceted road safety management initiative aimed at enhancing safe road transportation.

As part of the project, he revealed that RSMSL will finance the supply, installation, operation and maintenance of traffic cameras to check excessive speeding on the roads.

“It is also investing in the building, operation and maintenance of vehicle recovery and towing service centres on the highways for rapid removal and recovery of accident or broken down vehicles on the roads.

To aid the towing operations, the company is also investing in the construction of a full service vehicle parking centres that would accommodate towed and accident vehicles, as well as offer repair services to faulty vehicles.

This, he said, is aimed at providing motorists with driving breaks so as to reduce road accidents attributable to driver fatigue.”

The rest stops, according to the Manager of RSMSL, “would also serve as service centres equipped with eco-and family-friendly facilities and will offer other human services,” he added.

The 24-hour rest centres are expected to be adequately equipped to provide motorists and travellers alike with safety, security and other basic needs for total comfort during the course of their journey, such as emergency vehicle serving.

Furthermore, the company will finance the acquisition of an initial 20 state-of-the-art ambulances to ensure the provision of consistent and reliable ambulance services at vantage points on major roads.

The benefit of the company’s planned investments range from job creation through skills acquisition and technology transfer to accelerated economic development.

On job creation, with the exception of a few expatriate staff who are expected to provide technical advisory services and support in the stages of the project, the entire operations is to be fully staffed by Ghanaians.

The project, he said, is aimed at providing an initial employment for about 1,000 Ghanaians who will man the communication, recovery and service centres along the major roads.

The establishment of the various rest stops and service centres along our highways will also create about 350 construction related jobs and around 2,500 in the service delivery system.

And aside from these direct job avenues to be created, these centres will also generate other economic spin-offs for the surrounding communities

It is also envisaged that the ambulance services facilities to be established would generate employment for at least 100 Ghanaians at the onset.

According to management of the company, the project will significantly contribute to poverty reduction, and also help the government to save cost from effects of road accidents.

“The smooth take off of these projects present the nation with opportunities for significant development and transfer of skills in technology applications to road safety and security management. The operations of the company are geared at addressing the four major areas identified by the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) as contributing factors to road traffic accidents.”

According to the NRSC boss, factors including broken down and abandoned vehicles, road and environmental hazards and poor emergency medical response are some of the contributory factors to road accidents in the country.