The Head of Education, Research and Training at the Motor Transport and Traffic Directorate (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service, Superintendent Alexander Obeng has cautioned drivers, political leaders and all road users to adhere to the road safety regulations to save children.
He said road accidents always go up during electioneering and Christmas periods and result in families losing several breadwinners. He said children’s future is always dashed when their parents die in tragic accidents.
Sup. Obeng therefore pleaded with drivers to drive with care to avert accidents which are likely to kill parents and leave their children helpless.
He made this known at the luanch of a road safety campaign for children by AritaGlobe Foundation on Friday, November 20, 2020 to mark World Children’s Day. The event was supported by National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) and the MTTD.
The event dubbed #ArriveAlive4kids on the wings of the NRSA’s ‘Arrive Alive’ was under the theme : “Reimagine a safer world for every child”
Speaking at the event, Exercutive Director of AritaGlobe Foundation, Princess Arita Anim, stated that over the years, there has been a hike in road crashes during election and Christmas periods following increase in political activities among others hence the need to use the campaign to educate drivers on the need to arrive alive for their kids.
“As we launch the official road safety campaign for children by AritaGlobe Foundation on this day to mark World Children’s Day, which seeks the welfare of children, everyone must play his or her part- road safety cannot be left out. We should all make sure we arrive alive for the sake of our children’s future and our own lives,” Supt. Obeng cautioned.
She continued, “A lot of children become vulnerable following road accidents. Road Safety is very key and part of our agenda but this time we are focused on kids. In this launch we want to caution drivers, to reimagine a world without accidents- and every road user can be a victim of traffic accidents, so at least, we are reminding everyone that children don’t cause road accidents. They expect us to help them grow not to end their lives and dreams by any form of road recklessness”
In Ghana, children alone constitute almost one-third of all pedestrian fatalities. Pedestrians, especially children bear a disproportionately high share of road traffic fatalities .
According to Miss Anim, “children, even if they are not the victim themselves, and their guardian or whoever is involved, their dreams could end abruptly. Because a guardian, mother, father, sister, brother or the person is taking care of the ward and might have probably been involved in an accident to death or injured in any form.”
“This is sad and unacceptable. These children we see today are the world if only we knew what that means, we shall go about saving every child by making it a priority to arrive alive as a driver, passenger, pedestrian or a rider when you leave your homes to work or wherever”, Miss Anim cried out.
In his speech, the Director of Planning and Programming at the National Road Safety Authority, Ing David Osafo Adonteng, revealed that the NRSA has already began an engagement with the Ministry of Education and Ghana Education Service (GES) on plans to fix in road safety education in the academic curriculum and stressed that engagements are still ongoing.
In her appeal, the Headmistress of Osu Presby Girls Basic School, Madam Lydia Offei Kwapong, called on the Ghana Education Service to inculcate Road Safety Education in the Academic Curriculum as soon as possible.
She said, that would go a long way to enhance road users on the dangers of recklessness.
Source: Ghana|Myxyzonline.com