The Progressive Transport Owners Association (PROTOA) Ghana has launched the Telematic Road Safety Programme (TRSP) to ensure safety on the country’s road and reduce drastically the spate of road accidents and human casualties.
The programme is facilitated by the Universal Consultancy Ltd (UCL Ghana) for all members of the transport union including drivers, vehicle owners, other road users and stakeholders.
Features of the TRSP, which is being piloted include the creation of Passenger Manifests at all on-boarding commercial stations to provide information on the identity of all travelers, their next of kin and mounting of telematic speed-limit devices on all commercial vehicles as directed by the National Road Safety Commission.
Again, the system is designed to verify the health of drivers (including breathalyzer test) before vehicle take-offs and ensure that all commercial vehicles doing more than 300 Km per journey have an accompanying licensed spare-driver.
Mr Benjamin Agorsu Katsekpor, National Chairman for PROTOA in an interview with the Ghana News Agency said it was the hope of the Union that the programme would improve the relationship between drivers and passengers through the “Know Your Passenger” (KYP) module, E-ticketing, creation and registration of E-passengers and documenting information on the identity of all travelers and their next- of- kin.
“All this data collection will help to trace accident victims and broken-down vehicles in transit- the system will also facilitate and fast track the transporting of accident victims to nearby health facilities to save lives,” Mr Katsekpor stated.
He said PROTOA’s digitalization efforts were aimed at presenting commercial opportunities for drivers, passengers, and cargoes.
“It will also make work easier for the service provider and consumers because accessibility of such services will be made easier for potential clients,” he added.
Nana Kofi, a representative of UCL Ghana, facilitators of the programme, said the
Telematic Road Safety Programme (TRSP) would develop corresponding technologies in full swing and simplify repetitive and time-consuming tasks, which would help transport companies to transact business regardless of proximity.
The programme, he said, would also enable transport unions and for that matter PROTOA to have access to complaints about drivers and passengers on driver-card data immediately – even while drivers are still on the road.
“That means that, it’s possible for them to meet legal documentation requirements much more efficiently and in a much shorter time than previously,” he said.
Meanwhile, data compiled by the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service shows that the total number of commuters killed in road traffic accidents in 2021 recorded a 16.37 per cent jump over the figure for 2020. More men than women perish in road crashes with some being pronounced dead on arrival at health facilities.
Among the challenges with injuries from road accidents are delays in transporting road accident victims to nearby health facilities and lack of knowledge in handling such victims or administering first aid that could buy victims more time before reaching a nearby hospital.
Statistics show that Ghana loses up to $230 million every year treating injuries and traffic fatalities and loss in productivity.
Despite the presence of road safety agencies and the implementation of their programmes in the country, road accidents and human casualties are still on the increase.
The number of road accidents in 2021 was alarming with over 2,126 death tolls as of the third quarter of the year.
Source: newsghana.com.gh