Parliament on Tuesday took drivers to task on the dangers of speaking on mobile phones while driving and called for the enactment and enforcement of legislation to check the deadly habit.
Mr. James Appietu-Ankrah, Member of Parliament for Lower West Akim in a statement drew the attention of the nation to the common sight of drivers speaking on their mobile phones while driving.
“Mr Speaker, one does not have to wait to have some bad experience before taking remedial measures. Every single life in this country is precious and must be protected.”
Mr. Appietu-Ankrah consequently called on the Ministers for Communication and Road Transport to initiate a bill to make it an offence to use a mobile phone while driving.
“Mr Speaker, I have no doubt that this move will receive the necessary support from this august house… all of us must be thankful we are alive today. Who knows who may be a victim of an accident caused by a driver speaking on a mobile phone while driving?” Mr Appietu asked.
According to Mr Appietu-Ankrah, the subscriber number for mobile telephone network operators had crossed the seven million mark and that majority of drivers that ply the road use mobile phones.
He noted the carnage on the roads was the result of drunk driving, over-speeding, careless driving and non-observance of road traffic rules and regulations.
Other causes of road traffic accidents are unnecessary overtaking, impatience and indiscipline and mechanical faults.
Mr. Appietu-Ankrah said the joint enforcement operations of the National Road Safety Commission, the various transport unions, the police, the District Assemblies and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority had not yielded expected results of making
Ghana’s road transport system the safest in Africa.
“The Ghana National Road Safety Commission is aiming at reducing the fatality rate of road traffic accidents from 22 deaths per 10,000 vehicles to a single digit of three deaths per 10,000 vehicles by 2015,” Mr. Appietu-Ankrah said.
He noted that the use of mobile phones while driving appeared to have escaped equal attention, but was however, becoming a major cause of fatal road accidents.
The MP said it was for good reason why some countries had laws that banned the use of mobile phones while driving and cited an instance of a Minister in the UK who was given on the spot fine last November.
“Just last month a motorist who was sending a text message on his mobile phone and killed a cyclist was sentenced to four years imprisonment, in London.
“Such is the seriousness the British Government and the people attach to this phenomenon,” Mr Appietu said.
Dr Kwame Ampofo (NDC-South Dayi), in a contribution, said he lost concentration while using the mobile phone and driving at the same time and called for the enforcement of the law, pointing out that the use of mobile phones at filling stations could cause an electromagnetic spark.
Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyemang (NPP-New Juaben North) called on the Ministry of the Interior to empower the police to check the use of cell-phones by motorists on the road.
Source: MJFM
