Abraham Amaliba is the Acting Director-General of the National Road Safety Authority
The Acting Director-General of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), Abraham Amaliba, has announced a new push for stricter enforcement of road safety regulations, signaling a shift from education to action.
During an interview with GhanaWeb recently, Amaliba emphasised that “it’s time to crack the whip on road safety rules offenders.”
To combat a rise in accidents at known “black spots” (areas with a high frequency of crashes) Amaliba revealed that the NRSA has formally requested that national security reinstate police patrols.
According to Amaliba, the absence of police presence has led to a “free for all” mentality, with drivers speeding recklessly in these areas.
“In the past, whenever drivers approached these areas (black spots), they would slow down because police were stationed there but now, it’s like a free for all. So, I have asked that as a temporary measure to curb high accident rates, they should bring back the police to the black spots,” Amaliba explained.
Amaliba acknowledged that the initial reason for withdrawing police from the roads was concerns over bribery.
However, he believes that a collaborative effort between the police and the NRSA can identify and monitor these specific high-risk locations.
“We can put our heads together and identify those black spots and then assign the police to be in those areas on the road,” he stated.
In addition to addressing reckless driving, the NRSA called for a keen focus on pedestrian safety.
Amaliba confirmed that jaywalking is an offense in Ghana and stressed the need for collaboration between the police and the NRSA to enforce this law.
“If we prosecute one or two people for jaywalking, I think pedestrians will also begin to abide by the rules,” he said.
He stressed that the time for solely educating the public is over.
“We are now at the point where we must enforce the laws,” he said.
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