Wednesday, February 27, 2008

KILLING OF PEDESTRIANS WORRIES COMMISSION (FEB 28, PAGE 36)

STORY: Kwame Asare Boadu, Kumasi

THE Ashanti Regional Co-ordinator of the National Road Safety Commission, Mr Kwaku Oware-Boateng, has expressed concern about the rampant knockdown of pedestrians by vehicles in the region.
He stated that about 30 per cent of deaths on the roads were as a result of pedestrian knockdowns.
Mr Oware-Boateng said children had been the worst victims, and therefore called on drivers to reduce their speed to the mandatory limit when they reached towns and villages.
Addressing the congregation at the Ramseyer Presbyterian Church at Adum in Kumasi during the youth week celebration of the church’s Young People’s Guild, Mr Oware-Boateng said in some instances drivers who knocked down pedestrians refused to stop, in clear contravention of the laws of the land.
He cited a recent example when a pregnant woman was killed by a speeding vehicle at Bomfa Junction on the Kumasi-Konongo road.
The offending driver, who was heading towards the Kumasi end of the road, sped off.
The co-ordinator said two days earlier, an eight-year-old boy was killed in Konongo town by a speeding driver.
Mr Oware-Boateng asked drivers to take into consideration the environment in which they found themselves, so that they would abide by the road regulations to ensure safety.
He also called on traders who had taken over pavements to leave such areas to prevent people from getting onto the roads to compete with vehicles for the use of the roads, resulting in pedestrian knockdowns.
Mr Oware-Boateng also called on pedestrians to be extra cautious when using the road.

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