The case of road accident in Ghana from January, 2020 to March, 2020 is beyond all reasonable doubt, overwhelming.
Almost every day, there is record of road accident. Some blame our poor roads as the cause of vehicle accidents, others go for careless driving and others blame the road safety police officers for their 'improper' things they do on our roads instead of what they are assigned to do.
Indeed, all these are contributing factors to the numerous vehicle accidents occuring rampantly in Ghana.
I see that, what is happening on our roads is a ripple effect of the good we are refusing to do.
If the police officers on our roads don't do their assignment well but continue to take interest in the little droplets they take from the drivers at the expense of human lives, then no matter how good our roads may be, accidents will continue to claim lives because we will still have drivers who don't even have the license to drive on our roads still driving.
Most drivers on the other hand, don't do any proper check on their vehicles before taking off on the road. Some of the drivers are just careless that they will still cause accidents if they should drive alone on the road without any other vehicle.
The leaders of the country responsible for our roads and the maintenance thereof only see the need when there are accidents on our roads. You will see them come to the scene promising to better our roads when there are cases of accidents. But give them a month or two, you will realise they tend to have forgotten and others will tell you "it's in the pipeline".
Finally, let me say this on the issue of the causes of the rampant vehicle accidents in Ghana and it goes to the passengers.
The passengers, sometimes, are also culprits of these accidents we see around. The kind of pressure some passengers put on drivers because they(passengers) think they are one way or the other late for work or other personal reasons, is a contributing factor to these accidents.
And sometimes, it is just confusing and annoying that, as some of the passengers want the driver to speed up, the others prefer he slows down. So at this point, what do you expect the driver to do?
Passengers must believe in the drivers and allow them to do their job. Too much influence on them as they are behind the steering wheel can lead to unexpected accidents.
Patience is a great virtue, passengers must keep in mind. Speeding will only put you in a situation you may never forget in your life.
Having outlined all these, let me say this to the leaders of the country, drivers, passengers and the road safety police officers.
Let our leaders better our roads.
Let the road safety police consider lives important than the little money they take from drivers. Stop taking ¢2.00 and ¢5.00 at the expense of precious human lives. Be content with your pay and work with due diligence.
Drivers, please do a proper check on your vehicles before taking off. Don't allow a single passenger's carelessness to influence you to be likewise. You are in charge of the lives of all the people in the vehicle. So be wise and bold in your decisions as you are behind the steering wheel.
As I said earlier, passengers must know that the slightest mistake the driver makes can cause the lives of all the passengers on board as well as the driver's own. Know the driver is a fellow like yourself. If you force him to overspeed, you do that at your own risk. You may regret it but it may be late to repair the damage caused.
Speeding kills. Drive responsibly and save lives. Leaders, keep your promises and help make our roads better, if not the best.
