The National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), together with the Accra and Kumasi Metropolitan Assemblies (AMA/ KMA) has launched the “Know and Follow the Speed Limits” mass media campaign to sensitize drivers on the need to follow speed limits to save lives. The campaign was developed with technical support from global public health organization Vital Strategies through Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety and reminds drivers to slow down during the election and Christmas periods, which are peak travel periods when statistics show that road crashes increase.
Speed management remains one of the biggest challenges facing road safety practitioners around the world and calls for a concerted, long-term, multidisciplinary response. Speed directly influences the risk of a crash as well as the severity of injuries sustained, and the likelihood of death resulting from that crash. As at October this year, the Police MTTD had recorded 2,038 road crash deaths across the country. This is a matter of concern that needs to be tackled critically.
During the launch, Director for Planning and Programs at the National Road Safety Authority Mr. Martin Afram Esq. reiterated the need for drivers to know the speed limit and abide by it. “It is very important for every driver moving on any road in Ghana know and drive within the posted speed limit. Speed limits are in place to keep all road users safe—it is critical that they be followed. The faster you drive, the lesser your chance of survival when you collide with any object. I believe strongly that this campaign, which is coordinated with massive speed enforcement, will help us change the narrative around road safety and record fewer crashes and fatalities on our roads during this election and Christmas period.” Read Also: Plastic Industry Seeks Ban Delay, Warns of Job Losses
Speed management is essential to improving road safety in Ghana. The latest Status Summary Reports released by the Johns Hopkins International Injury and Research Unit reveals that 92% and 89% of drivers speed on local and collector roads, respectively, in Accra and Kumasi. However, improving compliance with speed limits is not an easy task. Many drivers do not recognize the risks involved, and often the perceived advantages of speeding outweigh the perceived problems that can result.
Safe, reliable and affordable transit is important for people’s work and personal lives, as well as for economic development. The “Know and Follow the Speed Limit” campaign focuses on equipping drivers with information on speed limits on Ghana’s roads while ensuring the enforcement of these speed limits. In collaboration with the NRSA, the Police Motor Traffic and Transport Department of the Ghana Police Service will conduct significant enforcement operations. Anything to say about the enforcement operations? http://www.ghanaweb.com
The launch event saw the Police MTTD department conducting speed checks and sensitizing arrested drivers to slow down as they drive. The Director for education, research and training at the Police MTTD Chief Superintendent Alexander Obeng, stressed the need for drivers to slow down during this peak season “It is such a delight to be here today to partake in this all important event geared towards saving lives on our roads. I extend appreciation to the National Road Safety Authority for championing this course and to the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety for providing technical and financial support to the city of Accra in the area of road safety for almost a decade. During this peak season, the police is ready to crack the whip on any driver caught speeding or engaging in any risky behavior on our roads, to safeguard the lives of residents in our dear city as they commute within the city space.”
The “Know and Follow the Speed Limit” campaign will air on television and radio and will be displayed on billboards (in Accra and Kumasi) for 6 weeks. The campaign will also be displayed on long-journey buses departing from Accra and shared on NRSA and AMA’s social media platforms. This will be backed with massive police enforcement nationwide.
“Everyone deserves safe streets. Yet, an estimated 1.19 million lives are lost on the world’s roads each year, with speeding a leading cause of these preventable tragedies,” said Asmeret Nigus, Vital Strategies Technical Advisor for Africa. “Governments need to fundamentally reimagine road safety: prioritizing those most at risk—pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists—to reduce the likelihood and the severity of crashes. We congratulate the National Road Safety Authority, the Accra and Kumasi Metropolitan Assemblies on the launch of the ‘Know and Follow the Speed Limits’ campaign, which, coupled with enforcement by traffic police, aims to deter speeding behavior and save lives. Vital Strategies is proud to have supported the development of this campaign.”
Strategic mass media campaigns paired with enforcement can be effective tool to change risky behavior. The post-campaign evaluation of the previous speeding campaign demonstrated that a significant majority of respondents who remembered seeing this campaign (98%) agreed that the campaign helped them understand the consequences of not following speeding rules. Additionally, about 93% reported feeling concerned about speeding, and 95% indicated that the campaign made them more likely to avoid speeding. The campaign encouraged public discourse about speeding: awareness group had 42% dialogue rate vs unaware 30%.
BLOOMBERG PHILANTHROPIES INITIATIVE FOR GLOBAL ROAD SAFETY
The Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS) works with the world’s leading road safety organizations to design strategies, implement activities and coordinate with in-country governmental and nongovernmental stakeholders. We place an emphasis on achieving outcomes, and on using high-quality monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to continually assess our program’s progress. BIGRS reflects Bloomberg Philanthropies’ vision that progress can be achieved both locally and nationally. Implementation of programs at the local level complements national level policy progress. For more information please visit: https://www.bloomberg.org/program/public-health/road-safety/#solution
