The Director of Programmes and Planning at the National Road Safety Commission, (NRSC) Mr. David Adonteng has called for stakeholder consultation on the recent calls for the revision of the ban on the use of motorcycles for commercial purposes.
According to NRSC Director, statistics shows that accidents and death caused by motorcycles and tricycles in 2010 were 210 and had increased to 437 in 2016, with the number increasing yearly.
Mr. Adoneng was speaking at stakeholders’ consultation and proposed amendments to the road traffic regulations 2012, legislative Instrument (L.I) 2180 and commercial use of motorcycles and tricycles programme on Wednesday April 17, 2019, held in Kumasi at the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) hall at Amakom.
Motorbikes have been the preferred means of transport for rural folks because it is the easiest and cheapest means by which they ply their business.
In the three regions of the North and the northern part of the Volta Region for instance, motorbikes are revered so much among farmers, teachers, nurses, social workers and many others, who rely on them to get to their places of work.
No wonder in the latter part of the 2000s, Apsonic motorbikes were christened “Single Spine” in reference to the improved finances of teachers as a consequence of the introduction of the single spine salary structure (SSSS).
However, the last five years has seen a rise in the use of motorbikes for commercial purposes in towns and cities such as Accra, Kumasi, Tamale and Cape Coast.
Mr. Adoneng stated that some of the motorcycles and tricycles are registered, others are not registeredwith Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), most of them may not be roadworthy but are on the roads causin a lot of problems.
He said that the riders are mostly inexperienced people between the ages of 14 to 35 years old whose education level is about 60% not higher than primary.
“This is calling for us to take a second look at that particular population, see what is wrong and then we can deal with it using the law… We are coming up with consultative meetings with stakeholders. The law as it is, if it is something that cannot be enforce, then we have to look at it and do something about it.
“If sitting on it would create a problem as regards deaths and injuries, automatically, we won’t go for it but we are putting in mechanism to protect the individuals whether we use it for commercial purposes or not. The human being sitting on it should be well protected,” the Director of Programmes and Planning at the NRSC stated.
At the end of his presentation, stakeholders were divided into groups to deliberate on the reasons why the use of the cycles should be banned and legalized. At the end of the group meeting, they all presented their points. Mr. Adonteng said at the end of their programmes, the results will be revealed at the parliament for finalization.
Meanwhile, the chairman for “pragya” and “Okada” riders union, Alhaji Kalmen has pleaded with the government to legalise the use of the motorcycles and tricycles because it has provided job opportunity for most of the youth, therefore decreasing criminal rate in the country. According to him, should incase the government ban heuse of it, it will make the youth restless and render them poor, having no means to earn a living.
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Source: Paulina Bonsu| Ghanawish.com
